Overseas tourism staff have told the residents of Bermuda they feel "deceived" and "deeply disrespected" by Government's outsourcing of their jobs.

In an 'Open Letter to the People of Bermuda' published as an advertisement in The Royal Gazette, the North America Sales Team accuse Government of attempting "to rob Bermudians of their jobs with no shame or empathy".

The Department of Tourism Overseas Team question the decision of their employer to outsource jobs to US firm Sales Focus, and say they cannot see any immediate alternative employment. According to the letter, only one Bermudian member of staff has US citizenship/Green Card status and so is eligible to apply for a position with Sales Focus.

Unions says up to 20 Bermudians – some of whom have 30 years' service with the Department of Tourism – are being made redundant on five weeks' notice after Cabinet agreed to outsource sales to the US firm. Government, however, maintains the figure is eight staff.

Tourism Permanent Secretary Cherie Whitter and union boss Ed Ball will this afternoon meet staff in New York. They are expected to be told their fate tomorrow, possibly in one-to-one meetings.

The workers claim Government has ignored questions about their future for months, and now the redundancies will split up families and homes due to staff having to move back to the Island.

On Thursday, dismayed union bosses threatened to "give Government war" and called for the whole of Cabinet to resign over the outsourcing of Bermudian jobs.

On Friday, the employees placed the open letter in The Royal Gazette aimed at Premier Dr. Ewart Brown and Mrs. Whitter.

It stated: "Nowhere in the PLP Election Platform was it indicated that your promise of new social programmes would be at the expense of the Tourism staff in the overseas office. We feel deceived!"

Staff from the Overseas Tourism Office say: "Firstly as Bermudians and secondly as Government employees, we feel deeply disrespected in the manner in which the announcement of the proposed outsourcing has been handled thus far.

"For quite some time we have repeatedly asked if the office would be privatised and on each occasion this has been denied.

"Certainly, the process of outsourcing, and negotiating a contract for the sales function of the overseas office did not happen in two or three days. When the Request for Proposals (RFPS) was sent out several months ago, it was then that we as valued employees should have been duly notified of the proposed changes that would have significant ramifications for the overseas office."

Arguing they should have been consulted on cost-saving measures, the team describe themselves as "very intelligent, talented, educated and astute".

The letter then addresses Ms Whitter directly, stating: "At present, we have not been privy to your vision for the future of the Overseas Office of the Bermuda Department of Tourism; therefore we find it extremely difficult to understand and visualise how the outsourcing will be beneficial to Bermuda and Tourism."

The 'Response from Bermuda Department of Tourism Overseas Team' continues: "As the world, including Bermuda, goes into economic meltdown, it is astounding that the PLP Government finds it absolutely necessary to rob Bermudians of their jobs with no shame or empathy."

They claim there has been "no assurance of employment within the Civil Service" and that "the majority of us are not eligible to seek employment with the U.S. based company, Sale (SIC) Focus Incorporated".

"There will be hardships endured by everyone as we have established lives which will be severely disrupted," the sales staff say.

The letter then addresses Dr. Brown, stating: "As the Premier of Bermuda, you have made it known on numerous occasions that you are keen to see the advancement of Bermudians in the hospitality industry.

"How do you call this progress, if you sell out our jobs in Tourism to an American sales company?

"Minister Brown, through all of the previous restructurings, and more recently the lack of a working budget and sales plan, we have continued to execute our duties diligently and in a professional manner. It must be said that your email provides no further clarity and certainly offers no meaningful words of encouragement.

"In closing, we ask you Minister Brown and members of the Cabinet, is this the face that the PLP Government wants to portray to the world?"

The Premier told MPs last week that the job losses are a necessary cost-cutting measure due to this year's Tourism Budget being cut by $5 million. He claimed "the sales model for Bermuda Tourism was also decades old".

Dr. Brown said: "Each displaced worker who wants to continue working in the Civil Service will be given that opportunity – redundancy is not the desired end game."