criticism of Bermuda's hiring laws by Public Service Commission chairman Mrs.

Jeanette Cannonier.

In a speech on Wednesday to the Hamilton Lions Club, Mrs. Cannonier said a new law which placed foreign spouses of Bermudians on an equal footing in the job market was "ridiculous.'' It broke down one of the few areas where Bermudians were protected and was causing confusion, she said, adding that she was speaking personally.

Mr. Pearman told The Royal Gazette that Government was not about to revisit the amendment it made to the immigration act last summer, despite Mrs.

Cannonier's comments and the recent row over Customs' hiring of a non-Bermudian with a Bermudian spouse.

The PSC has not yet amended its regulations to comply with the new law, and Mr. Pearman had no comment on whether it should.

That was up to "the PSC themselves, and their advisers'', he said.

Mr. Pearman said it was not unusual for the PSC and the rest of the Country to be out of sync when it came to hiring.

For years, Government law provided for spouses of Bermudians to receive a spousal rights certificate to help them get jobs, after a certain number of years of marriage.

"The PSC never accepted that,'' Mr. Pearman said. Their position on hiring had been "Bermudians first, spouses of Bermudians and non-Bermudians next.

They had relegated spouses of Bermudians to the same position as someone from outside totally.

"It doesn't necessarily follow that because the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs may take something forward for change that the PSC has to adopt that.''