Hospitality industry bosses are breathing a bit easier now after meeting with Economy Minister Patrice Minors over Government's decision to purge certain foreign workers to make way for Bermudians in need of work.Minister Minors has agreed to “revisit the timeline for those workers who were instructed to stop working on 20 January and to settle their affairs, as admittedly the timeline issued by the Department was somewhat aggressive,” reads a statement issued by the Ministry last night.Work permit renewals for pot washers and a handful of other job categories have been on hold since a work permit moratorium was imposed last February.Late last week, hospitality industry employers began receiving word from Immigration that the work permits will not be renewed and that the workers had to stop work as of Friday this week.The news alarmed many in the industry.“There was clarity in regard to a moratorium. However, there were serious procedural concerns,” is how Phillip Barnett co-chair of the Restaurant Division of the Chamber of Commerce, summed it up.After a nearly two hour meeting with the Minister, Philip Barnett said that he was hopeful that the industry's concerns had been heard and were being resolved.The Minister, who also met with the Bermuda Hotel Association, had asked for 24 hours to consider the concerns raised, but issued the statement just several hours later.Mrs Minors' statement revealed that an “internal backlog' had caused a delay in “processing of the paper work associated with the moratorium categories”. But it added “all administrative processes are now being expedited in accordance with the terms of the moratorium.”And it confirmed that guest workers who worked as landscape gardeners, cleaners, kitchen and bar porters, housekeepers and skilled labourers whose work permits have expired “have been instructed to wind down their affairs in Bermuda”.Employers who wish to appeal the decision can do so, the statement continued.And the Minister urged unemployed locals to register with the Department of Labour and Training so they can take advantage of “job openings created by unsuccessful appeals”.The Minister said: “We fully recognise that there is a delicate balance in sustaining and safeguarding our Bermudian workforce, as well as ensuring that the needs of our business partners were adequately addressed.“However we must also ensure that our Bermudian labour force is adequately supported.“And we believe this is in the best interest of those many Bermudians who are currently unemployed.“As it relates to our industry partners, it is not the desire of Government to hamper the productivity of their businesses quite the contrary. I can assure them, that we are taking a measured approach. We are here to assist employers with finding good employees and running successful businesses.”The Opposition One Bermuda Alliance yesterday heaped scorn on the Government's notice to the foreign workers describing it as a “desperate measure” brought about by the Government's mismanagement of the economy.Meanwhile, United Bermuda Party MPs sounded an empathetic tone saying Government had to address local unemployment.In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, OBA Leader Craig Cannonier said his party supported efforts to get people employed.“But let's keep this desperate measure in perspective: The PLP have taken us so far down that we're now pushing people to pot washer jobs, one of the lowest paid job categories in the economy,” he said.“Is this the best we can do for an unemployed 33-year-old construction worker? Is this the best we can say to an 18-year-old, who has gone through the school system to the unemployment lines? That you can be a pot washer?“This situation would have been unimaginable three or four years ago, but that is where PLP mismanagement of the economy has brought us.”Mr Cannonier said: “We hope the Government has thought through this pre-election step. Cleaners hired by local restaurants have contracts that must be honoured; and restaurant operations must be maintained.“We expect the Government has a list of ready and able Bermudians to step into these positions and that it is working with restaurateurs to make sure all goes smoothly.”UBP MPs Kim Swan and Charlie Swan issued a statement supporting Government's overall work permits policy saying similar actions were taken during the recession of the 1990s.“We understand the need for government action to address unemployment impacting Bermudians,” stated Kim Swan.During the 1990s recession a “severe tightening of work permits” adversely impacted a number of Portuguese families, he added.“The criticism was loud but the UBP Government of that day had to cut its cloth to fit the challenges of that period.“Today the PLP face a more daunting challenge than just a recession, a challenge which made more difficult because of a lack of financial reserves, our billion dollar debt and an economy where the government must borrow to accommodate a current account deficit.“As such the Bermuda Government still must act to address the needs of its people and the truth is that a high number of Bermudians are need of work.”He continued: “We understand notice of this possibility was given a year ago and there has been fore warning of this possibility, which is important to ensure fair and balanced policies protect the rights of those guest workers engaged who now will have to relocate.”MP Charlie Swan added that the recession is far worse than that of the 1990s“Families, companies and all organisations must be cognisant of, and understand, all the foregoing and the gravity of Bermuda's situation,” he said.“While government can amend policies that affect its citizens and the businesses that make up our economy, it must also recognise that it has to play its part (as unpalatable as that may be).”