A hot line will be launched for concerned members of the public to report people working outside the terms of their work permits.

The news was revealed by Walter Roban, Junior Minister for Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety, during yesterday's budget debate on that Ministry.

He told the House of Assembly that concerns over the issue are increasing, and the department relies on information from the public.

"To assist Immigration, we will soon introduce an online hot line for complaints accessible through the Government portal," he said. "All information will be confidential."

Mr. Roban said recent feedback indicates the Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing, David Burch, has achieved "remarkable success" in improving the service offered by the Immigration Department. He said over 1000 companies are registered on a computerised work permit status system, which means they can check their permits online rather than Immigration staff having to field phone calls and E-mails.

This has freed up their time to process applications.

Mr. Roban said there are currently 6,650 work permit holders in the private sector.

Of those, 35 percent have been granted an exemption from term limits, 34 percent have been granted an extension to term limits and 31 percent are subject to the usual term limits. Guest workers are currently subject to a six-year cap on their time in Bermuda.

The United Bermuda Party complained in their response to the Budget that limiting the terms of expatriate workers causes unnecessary uncertainly for businesses in difficult economic times. They've called for the policy to be scrapped.

Mr. Roban said: "It's important to note that the Minister has exercised flexibility to approve extensions to term limits to enable employers to weather the economic downturn.

In his comments on the budget yesterday, UBP Deputy Leader Trevor Moniz complained that there is no up-to-date information in the public domain on work permits. He said the latest employment statistics date back to August 2008.

He complained that he posed Parliamentary Questions on the issue two weeks ago but has not received replies from Government which would have been important background information when discussing the budget.

"It's simply unacceptable," said Mr. Moniz.