Consultant to the Premier Rolfe Commissiong has denied Government's proposed race quota law is an appeal to its voter base and he urged whites to support changes to make the workplace fairer.

Mr. Commissiong said the legislation had been in the works for about two years and was needed to address institutionalised racism in the private sector. The Workforce Equity Act 2007 will give the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) powers to fine companies up to $50,000 if they block the progress of the Island's largest racial group.

Firms of 40 or more employees will be forced to set up policies to ensure black Bermudians achieve "a degree of representation in each occupational group in the employers' workforce that reflects their representation in the Bermuda labour force".

He denied the move is electioneering by appealing to blacks. "But I will concede from 1998 to 2005 or so you had a very 'young Government'. It took a while for the PLP government to find its feet.

"Now you see a transition to a Government which is maturing and becoming more confident. Not arrogant as our critics would have it. And, because of that, you are now seeing the PLP's historic commitment to social justice."

CURE's most recent stats showing only 27 percent of executives are black — down from 29 percent the previous year.

One counter view is that, in the international sector, the stats aren't so bad — with one half of executives being Bermudians and more than 27 percent of the total figure being black which could roughly equate to the proportion of black Bermudians employed in the international business sector.

But Mr. Commissiong said blacks disproportionately held lower level positions within the established business sectors.

"That reality hasn't changed," he said. "We are aware of statistics that black Bermudians with tertiary degrees make less than their white counterparts without tertiary degrees and when you have white and black Bermudians with the same degree of education, invariably the white Bermudian makes more.

"These are some of the apparently intransigent realities that we as a community and as a Government have to address.

"This legislation, albeit probably not in its final form, goes some way to intrinsically address that reality."

Lawyer Tim Marshall has claimed the CURE act, in its current form, could be discriminatory. However, Mr. Commissiong said: "I firmly believe where there has been systemic racial discrimination which has materially impacted upon an identifiable group in any society then any Government's attempt to redress that imbalance has to take precedence over any self-serving or simplistic laws which call for a 'colour blind' approach.

"By strictly conforming to that then one, in my view, is essentially willing to cement the current inequities that exist."

Some fear the legislation could demotivate all races — whites could think they would never get promoted while blacks could think they were assured of success. Mr. Commissiong said: "This legislation doesn't reward incompetence or lack of qualifications. That has to be the first bar of entry with respect to anyone benefiting from the proposed legislation."

He said if whites approached the issue without taking into account the record of racism they would have real problems in supporting it. "But the simple reality is white Bermudians benefited from their own brand of affirmative action for decades or centuries," Mr. Commissiong said. "That caused the major disparities economically and otherwise that we are saddled with.

"People talk about demotivation among the white workforce. The reality is black Bermudians have been demotivated and demoralised at least in the modern era in respect to opportunity in the workforce.

"The goal here is to achieve a workforce that is more representative of Bermuda racially."

Critics fear the law could also lead to able blacks being tarnished with the slur that they got promotions on the back of legislation rather than talent and hard-work.

But Mr. Commissiong said: "Where I sit, (and I say this) somewhat jocularly, that is a small price to pay for a larger goal of creating a better Bermuda in respect to race relations where black Bermudians can feel that a major bone of resentment that has been on the table of common welfare has been removed.

"I think this is not only good for black Bermudians — their hopes and aspirations — but also for white Bermudians."

He said whites did themselves a disservice if they simply mimicked white racist reaction in the US to such measures.

The approach for at least 25 years had been to hope that over time disparities would diminish or disappear but that had failed, said Mr. Commissiong. Some critics say any legislation tackling workforce inequity should have been general to help iron out unfairness to other groups such as women and the Portuguese.

But Mr. Commissiong said the colour blind approach has stopped the problem being tackled before. "The colour blind ideology only serves to reinforce the status quo and thus see blacks continue to be disadvantaged in Bermuda."

He said blacks were the identifiable group which needed help. So if liberals acknowledged that group was the one that had been disadvantaged they should have no problem supporting the legislation. "If they acknowledge this is about addressing the inequities blacks have had to endure as a consequence of Bermuda's very real racist history then what is the problem? I don't get it."

Mainstream business was open-minded about the changes such as the CURE act and Goodwill plus which will attach training commitments to new work permits, said Mr. Commissiong.

"They are similar to other types of legislation they encounter in other jurisdictions they do business with.

"When they do a cost-benefit analysis of the benefits Bermuda represents to them — lack of onerous regulation, its favourable tax climate, good governance and the rule of law — that will continue to outweigh what some of them view as irritants in respect to how they conduct their business."

He accused UBP supporters within international business of trying to stoke the fires of opposition — a tactic he labelled as desperate. Some sources in international business have complained Government's recent proposals — such as the CURE law, Goodwill plus, curbs on car use and work permit term limits — have seemed like 'one thing after another' and some companies are now outsourcing or thinking about leaving altogether.

But Mr. Commissiong said Government's relationship with that sector was "strong and stable" and he denied Government wanted to encourage a cooling off of international business.

Asked if a compromise was possible before the Bill goes to the House of Assembly, Mr. Commissiong said: "I am sure the opinions of our partners and stakeholders will be taken into consideration.

"A prudent Government would want as many stakeholders on board as they could but there is no doubt the biggest stakeholder is already on board — the Bermudian people — particularly those who have been historically disadvantaged."