Work permit term limits: bad for Bermuda

Tom Vesey has a first-rate summary of why work permit term limits are bad for Bermuda in Friday's Bermuda Sun.

"Beginning over the next year, there will be a mass exodus of perfectly qualified non-Bermudians who have been here six years or longer.

They will be replaced (if replacements can be found, or exasperated employers don’t take their business elsewhere) by new plane-loads of non-Bermudian work permit holders whose primary qualification is they haven’t worked in Bermuda before.

That, in a nutshell, is the problem with the six-year policy. It is completely absurd, and it doesn’t help Bermudians."

He offers a much simpler prescription for preventing foreign workers from acquiring the right of residency here:

"It is simply to take seriously the long list of warnings that already appear on every work permit — declaring that a work permit offers absolutely no rights of residency."

Well worth a read, if you haven't already.

Comments

[Pitts Bay on 26.02.06 at 14:56]

I couldn't agree more with Tom's analysis. The whole principle of the granting of PRCs to people who had been in Bermuda pre-1989 was that until 1989 there was still a discretionary power vested in the Minister to grant Bermuda status to people. Such people would always have the argument that they had a legitimate expectation that if they stayed in Bermuda long engough (and did not get into trouble) that the minister may grant them status.

After 1989 that power ceased to exist so people without a pre-existing Bermuda connection could not have this legitimate expectation (although that has led to a raft of other problems, which are off topic). Simply having all work permit holders wiave any rights they may have (save in the case of marriage etc), would suffice to prevent any claims to legitimate expectation since they knew their right (or lack thereof)from the very begining.

I am not sure if there are any constitutional issues with this, but it makes sense to me.

[SmokingGun on 26.02.06 at 15:01]

Bermuda has one foot on the proverbial Banana Peel and a shotgun in hand. Where do you think the PLP is aiming?

Alex must be off island hunting with Dick Cheney.

Tom Vesey could not have written a more compelling argument for why IB should be taking a harder look at the alternatives.

[Denis Pitcher on 26.02.06 at 16:54]

I agree, it was an excellent article by Tom.

We Bermudians should be focusing more on how we're crippling our IB community with our odd limitations.

For example, because it is so difficult (I've seen instances of 4 month delays) to get a work permit approved, our industry really suffers at bringing in prime foreign talent when there are no Bermudians to fill the spots.

We should give serious consideration to the fact that IB companies are now moving more lower level jobs offshore because of the high difficulties and costs associated with work permits and housing workers due to our "take em for all it's worth" mentality - especially in housing.

What impact does this have? It means more of the jobs that Bermudians, especially the young, could be filling to get a start on being trained are no longer here. We're seeing more and more executive and management roles on the island that Bermudians just arn't qualified to fullfill and can no longer work their way up the ladder because the bottom rungs are too high.

Bermuda needs to take a serious look at the limitations we place on our IB community.

[The Transporter on 26.02.06 at 17:02]

Do you think the gov really realize how easy it would be for IB to just up and leave for another more favourable jurisdiction? Vesey hit de nail on de head!

[NoVote on 26.02.06 at 17:30]

Quoting Tom Vesey: "It ignores the core difficulties with long-term non-Bermudian residents — how to handle their Bermuda-raised non-Bermudian children."

Personally I'm more concerned about how to handle my Bermudian - hopefully Bermudian-raised - children and less so those of expatriates who know perfectly well that they will have to leave at some point and should take responsibility themselves for whatever impact that may have on their children.

However, every time I turn around I see the government doing something dopey that makes it less likely that I will want my children to be raised and my family to remain in Bermuda.

The deterioration in social conditions in Bermuda is such that I wonder whether it would simply be better to get out now and allow my children to grow up in an environment that doesn't force them to deal with xenophobia, racism and intolerance at every turn.

The way things are going, I feel that my children will be forced out anyway. How different therefore is their plight from those of the long-term expat with children that know nothing other than Bermuda.

The one difference is that my children are Bermudian, and the government should therfore care very much about their future.It does not, however, appear to.

[NoVote on 26.02.06 at 17:39]

....and more on point.

Tom's overall analysis is spot on. Term limits are going to cause Bermuda inordinate economic damage.

The value of organisation-specific knowledge that can take years to acquire in contributing to people's effectiveness is tremendous.

It will really hurt businesses to be forced to throw this away before its 'sell buy date'expires.

It is also quite hard enough, time consuming enough and costly enough to bring qualified people that this economy needs to the Island.

There comes a point at which it simply won't be worth setting up business here.

[SmokingGun on 26.02.06 at 17:48]

Maybe this is all being done so as to help Ewart get to his 400,000 air arrivals per year.....

[The Transporter on 26.02.06 at 18:42]

lmaooo at that smoke

[Bill Cook on 26.02.06 at 18:44]

The work permit issue is a very difficult one to resolve.

As it stands it is counterproductive very often.

I have posted on this several times with regard to Doctors Surgeons Educators Clergy and Police etc

It would make sense to have a committee to review those affected and to be given discretionary powers to extend valuable people rather than risk not being able to replace with equal talent.

Magistrates have the discretion to often let criminals off to the detriment of the law abiding public so at least this way we could do something that is good for everyone.

[automatic on 26.02.06 at 20:04]

Just wanted to add my weight to the chorus of support for Tom's prefectly written analysis.

Added to the many factors mentioned above regarding the difficulties of replacing the talent lost by this policy, is the fact that because of the very weak US Dollar, and it's continued weak outlook, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract people to the island. It is simply not as attractive a proposition to someone from the UK or Canada etc as it used to be.

This is already a problem now, trying to replace those that leave normally, God only knows how difficult it will be trying to replace the huge numbers, all at once, that will be forced to leave if this policy is continued with.

If companies are lucky enough to find people willing to come here, they will have to pay them inflated salaries to entice them here, not to mention recruitment and relocation fees, all that to get someone who knows diddly squat about their organisation and their clients, and with much less invested in their companies than the perfectly suitable employee they are forced to get rid off.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that this will lead to IB thinking twice about whether they want to be here.

It's just a ludicrous policy. If it was about Bermudianisation then it wouldn't be so bad. Of course it would be good to replace ex-pats with Bermudians, no-one would argue otherwise, but everyone knows that there isn't the numbers of Bermudians to fully staff the workforce, especially in IB.

And believe me, the exodus has already started, I know many an ex-pat who would rather leave now on their own terms than be forced to go against their own and their employers wishes. Very few people like to stay where they are not welcome.

Just another example of the island's powers that be biting the hand that feeds them.

[SmokingGun on 26.02.06 at 20:34]

"And believe me, the exodus has already started, I know many an ex-pat who would rather leave now on their own terms than be forced to go against their own and their employers wishes."

automatic - too true. Imagine you know your time is going to be up in a year or two. Do you start preparing now or wait until the last minute and scramble for a job and hope others havn't taken it already? And now that you have a "certain" skill set, where do you think is the best job opportunity? The Caymans maybe? Eventually the employers might be forced to follow where the skilled employees go.

Bermuda should learn to work with what we have today and not take risks based on what we hope to have in the future. Getting Bermudians up to speed to handle qualified jobs in IB will take time. Rome wasn't built in a day but Pompeii sure was destroyed in one.

[NoVote on 26.02.06 at 21:06]

Another important dynamic here impacts those non-Bermudians that may wish to shift around amongst employers on Island.

Suppose that you are an expat that is looking to develop his/her career or simply move into a more senior / better paying job, after having spent, say, three years on the Island.

In Bermuda this often means that you may need to shift employers as Bermuda is a small place and often a single employer cannot provide the range of opportunities that the wider economy can (many Bermudians are familiar with this phenomenon).

What you will find is that increasingly your prior tenure on the Island will impact your marketability, as another employer is unlikely to want to take on an expatriate whose 'shelf-life' is guaranteed to be even shorter than the current upper limit of 6 years.

The result of this is that fewer opportunities will be available to such people, and they will voluntarily leave the Island before 6 years has expired.

The net effect of this will be an even more highly accelerated turn-over rate of expatriates and greater recruitments costs (and I mean all recruitment costs from initial search through relocation and orientation) that the economy as a whole will have to bear.

And all this, because the government will not simply allow expatriates to read the warnings on their work permits: utter madness!

[Caymana on 26.02.06 at 21:29]

The Cayman Islands emulated Bermuda's policy - only to find that it may require about half the country's medical staff to leave, as well as many of their long term expatriate tourism employees. Dumb move. Maybe we can talk them into keepin Alex and Olga. In the name of caribbean unity you know mon.

[SmokingGun on 26.02.06 at 21:35]

Actually No Vote I'd say that your point is something Government is trying to prevent happening by having a shorter permit time. I could understand the fact that we do not want people coming to Bermuda chopping and changing jobs whilst they are on a learning curve that a Bermudian should have access to. Extending permit time would defeat the purpose. If a person came to Bermuda for a specific job at a specific company and is being promoted within that company that's one thing but just to try their hand at another company I think it's worth them having to re-apply again. Sometimes you have to throw out the milk before it's expiration date so to speak.

[ParadiseFound on 26.02.06 at 21:43]

Whilst I respect the idea of protecting the Bermudian job market, I agree that the six-year term limit is the wrong way to go about it. And the last thing you want is to scare up the International Business sector into going elsewhere - that seems to be the only thing keeping people coming to the island, because it sure isn't tourism.

[NoVote on 26.02.06 at 22:21]

Hang on a minute SG and Paradise found!

The term limits are not supposed to be anything to do with Bermudianisation of the job market, and indeed will not really have that effect.

Their stated purpose is to prevent the creation of long-term residents.

For the latter pupose they will (apart from all the different waiver options that exist) be successful.

What's being discussed here are the implications for Bermuda of this policy.

Let's not blur the issue.

[NoVote on 26.02.06 at 22:36]

SG - Specifically to your point: "Actually No Vote I'd say that your point is something Government is trying to prevent happening by having a shorter permit time. I could understand the fact that we do not want people coming to Bermuda chopping and changing jobs whilst they are on a learning curve that a Bermudian should have access to."

Personally, I don't think that the government has fully understood what the implications of this policy will be. It is a really blunt instrument to achieve their stated goal: reducing long-term residency.

Furthermore, I don't believe that the scenario that I described has in anyway been intended by the government. It's just another side-effect of something that has been ill thought through.

Referencing your point about Bermudians having access to 'a learning curve': it is unrealistic to imagine that expatriates will come to Bermuda only to do something that has no intrinsic developmental value.

Also, just because such an expatriate might develop their career here doesn't mean that a Bermudian is being denied the same opportunity.

If a Bermudian had an equivalent skill set to an arriving expat, then why should he/she not have equal access to the developmental opportunity as that expat.

If there are no Bermudians with the skill set of an arriving expat - who happens to be able to fill a role with some intrinsic developmental value - then sadly that is unfortunate.

Term limits or not, this situation isn't going to change.

[Yet Another Limey on 27.02.06 at 08:22]

What about the key employees who get to stay for 9 years? Has anyone heard what constitutes a key employee?

I’ve heard some people claiming even waiters and hairdressers could be key, if that could be the case I doubt we’ll see a huge exodus.

Maybe the plan is for the government to allow most ex-pats to stay for 9 years, then lose power in the next 3 years (by forcing independence) and use it as a stick to beat the UBP (either if they repeal the law or go through with it) [too much conspiracy theory for a Monday morning].

[Lost in Flatts on 27.02.06 at 09:36]

So is there a single poster on this board who supports the 6-year term work permits? If not, is this a good time to point out the whole 'acting according to the wishes of the people' part of a democraticly-elected government?

It just baffles me, do our leaders even care where Bermuda will be in the long term? Everything they do screams of ignorance to future implications, from indepedence, to the out of control public sector spend to work permits to small things, like not allowing foreign soil to be used for a cricket wicket, only to turn around a few years later and complain that its not world class.

Put it this way, if you had stock in a company and it was run in the same manner, would you not be thinking its about time to cash out? Let's hope that's not what the IB's are thinking!

[Lost in Flatts on 27.02.06 at 09:38]

Sorry, democratically, seriously butchered that one in my haste.

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 27.02.06 at 10:22]

Lost,

I cannot say that I necessarily agree with the 6 year term limits across the board, however, I believe there needs to be some sort of time period that an expat is allowed to remain in Bermuda. This whole situation is a Catch 22.

On the one hand without any intervention, we should reasonably expect the IB sector to make certain that Bermudians are afforded every opportunity within the sector.

On the otherhand, we should not wish to limit these companies with regard to key personnel. This is where I believe it is important for key personnel to be very clearly defined so that there is no question as to who is deemed to be a key person and why they are labelled as such.

The reality is that the Bermuda job market is larger than the number of eligible Bermudians, and it appears that this market is still, to a large degree, increasing. This means that expats will always be a necessity within the Bermuda workforce, anyone who cannot see this is clearly blind.

My view on the work permit situation is that as Bermudians become experienced their professional progression should not be stiffled if there is an expat in a position that Bermudians can fill. I am in no way suggesting that anyone's work permit ever be revoke to place a Bermudian but surely there are grounds for non-renewal if a suitably qualified Bermudian is readily available.

That being said, as the number of jobs is still increasing this work permit matter should really not be a big issue unless Bermudians are not being afforded opportunities.

If opportunities are readily available for Bermudians, both at the entry level and via corporate advancement then there should be no need to have term limits.

Not having terms limits, however, has its problems. What do you do in a situation where some has been in Bermuda on work permit for an extended period of time and their children were born and raised in Bermuda? This is, in and of itself, a dilemma, for if this person than faces a situation where his work permit is not renewed he must leave and his children will be forced to relocate from the only place they have known as home.

There needs to be some balance in these matters because we cannot simply give everyone status. Can we?

[observor on 27.02.06 at 10:56]

I regretfully predict this will turn out to be yet another example of government executing an ill-thought out policy that ends up doing more harm than good. It really is a shame that after 7+ years the PLP decide yet again to implement a plan of action that is rooted not in thoroughly researched and analyzed data, but instead a knee jerk reaction to a far more complicated problem.

This government has set-up a plethora of committees, sub-committees, advisory boards, teams, panels, policy units, task forces, working groups, ad hoc groups and even a commission – all in the hope of formulating answers and implementing solutions to prevalent social and economic troubles. However, as time has consistently proven, the PLP consistently fail to do anything to adequately resolve important problems, preferring to focus on pet projects that benefit the very few.

[Ecky Thump on 27.02.06 at 11:06]

Guilden,

From the point of view of a work permit holder whose time will likeley be up soon should these 6 (or 9) year law be upheld: I knew all along that I wouldnt be able to grow old, retire, buy property etc here. I knew all along that there was no chance of me applying for status, a passport whatever.

I now have two children. When I had them, I knew they wouldnt have any status here. Caveat Emptor. I think people would be a bit daft to think otherwise.

This is all very clearly laid out on the Permit Questionnaire.

I have two years left on my current work permit. If I get another one after that is anyones guess. Thus, principally because of my children, I must start looking for other employment um...around about now. If something comes up, that's me gone.

That, is not a good thing for my company. I'm not saying I'm 'key' or that the company will collapse as soon as I leave but the work I do, the revenue I generate, the contacts I have etc etc is thanks in large part to my having been around here a while. There are 4 or 5 of us in this same position. That would screw the company if we all left in the same timeframe.

My company cant even find decent ex-pats to fill our vacancies, let alone Bermudians.

I dont believe you can give everyone status. There does have to be a balance. Term limits aren't going to reduce the number of permit holders. There is still going to be the same number of people living and working here.

[Zoom on 27.02.06 at 11:07]

The underlying belief of the term limits policy is that, with time, Bermudians will develop the technical skills to fulfill jobs currently held by expats.

The policy cannot account for the "rainmaker" clause - where expats are hired because of their contacts elsewhere and ability to attract business to Bermuda.

For many jobs in international business, this element is something that can really only be gained if Bermudians start routinely going overseas to work in relevant fields.

[SmokingGun on 27.02.06 at 11:12]

No Vote - It's all a matter of balance I guess. Restricting long term residency along with getting qualified people able to handle the work required and creating an environment whereby Bermudians eventually are able to fill the majority of those positions.

Trying to establish a bonafide well managed and soild foundation for a company is diificult enough, telling your staff that they will have to clean house every 5 years and start over with a fresh set of employees is not going to help. Oh and by the way, you'd better make sure the manager is registered as a key employee or they'll haav to replace themselves as well.

[Onion on 27.02.06 at 11:13]

I read Tom Vesey's column. If one merely lists and evaluates the pros of a certain proposition and does not even attempt to list and evaluate the cons, then of course that proposition will look favourable.

Now, of course Bermuda has more jobs than there are Bermudians to fill them. Of course we need expats to help run this economy. Of course we need international businesses. (Ok, got that out of the way, lest I be labelled a an ungrateful xenophobe.)

But what I find amazing is that nowhere in his article does he really focus on training Bermudians to fill positions. International business has been in Bermuda for over 50 years. Reinsurance has been in Bermuda for at least 20 years. In the last 15 years we have become a reinsurance capital in the world.Yet after all this time why is there such a dearth of Bermudian talent in senior positions in international companies?

Let me give you all a real life example of how Mr. Vesey's little cookie cutter philosophy flies in the face of reality. An English accountant is hired for a start up reinsurance company as treasurer. She works closely with the all expat executive. She is charged with hiring to build the finance team. She hires a Canadian male accountant as financial controller and then another expat as assistant controller. None of them bring a whole lot of reinsurance experience to the table, in fact some of them came to Bermuda as entry level accountants. They work together for two years and gain on the job experience.

One day a Bermudian with ten years of Wall Street experience walks in to look at job opportunities. He is told he just isn't the right fit. he's over qualified, blah blah blah.

You see, if I am an expat in charge of a team and I am making good money, human nature will always dictate that I watch out for my competition. Why would I want to hire a Bermudian to come in and compete with me? I want to make every effort to justify that I am a key employee.

A carefully drafted resume will always keep out the Bermudian competition. Sadly, the civil servants at immigration, with NO experience in international business are not equipped to scrutinize the qualifications of these so-called "key employees".

Therefore, the cycle continues and the Bermudians are left to just fill up spots in these companies so that they can fill out their CURE forms and help the companies get their "good corporate citizenship" status.

I did not read where Mr. Vesey sought solutions to account for this prevalent problem.

Our emphasis should be on having more and more Bermudians in key positions, not on finding ways to let expats stay longer.

I know a Canadian banker who worked in Bahamas for about 5 years. He was told from the start that his job was to train a Bahamian to take his place. When his term was finished he was told "thank you very much" and he was on his way and a Bahamian filled his spot.

Guilden can elaborate on this better than I but Bahamians run their baking industry and they do it successfully. There are Bahamian AVPs, VPs and CEOs. They have graduated from the colonial mentality that so many of us still possess (ie, foreign is better).In Bermuda so many of us feel we just need to keep the expats happy.

Of course there are Bermudian success stories, but when you consider how long these companies have been here it is nothing less than a travesty that we as a people have progressed so little within the companies. I do not support the blanket lifting of 6 year term limits. The term "key employee" must be made more narrow and must be strictly applied. Government will need to spend some money to attract more qualified people in its ranks to opine on the qualifications of work permit holders.

[thisgrassman on 27.02.06 at 11:26]

This government has set-up a plethora of committees, sub-committees, advisory boards, teams, panels, policy units, task forces, working groups, ad hoc groups and even a commission

Posted by observor on 27.02.06 at 10:56

you forgot "cross ministry initiative" ....the new sexy buzz word for civil servants

[NoVote on 27.02.06 at 11:43]

Let's stop blurring the issue here folks.

Term limits are NOT intended to provide NOR will they provide any greater opportunity for Bermudians in the labour market.

They are intended to stop the creation of long-term residents.

Whilst term limits will impact expatriate employment patterns - as work permits and other immigration policies also do - they will not impact Bermudian employment patterns......other than perhaps through the wider economic impact of building yet more cost and inefficiency into the economy: the latter will be bad for Bermudian employment prospects as it will undermine Bermuda's competitiveness.

[SmokingGun on 27.02.06 at 11:59]

No Vote - the only issue that's causing a blur is that it's still Monday morning and I haven't had my three cups of coffee yet. On that note I think I'll have to politely abstain from getting back to you until I can get a clearer mental picture of how you are seeing things. You may well be right.

[Canuck in Bermuda on 27.02.06 at 12:55]

Overall, this is nonsense - I agree. In my view, the government should be focused on *training*, not kicking out expats who have learned the island and genuinely call this place home just because they've hit some arbitrary time limit. I'm certainly not suggesting that the government should be responsible for churning out more accountants/actuaries etc... but this island needs stronger secondary AND post-secondary education.

I think that one of the main reasons you don't see many Bermudian "higher-ups" is that so many people leave for University (and sometimes even high school) education and they just never come back - I know a number of Bermudians in Canada in exactly this situation. Regardless of what the PLP or anyone else wants to say/imply, *education* is the key to these top positions. Experience is an asset, but you don't get to be head actuary (for example) just based on being in the company for x number of years. That right there is the problem in a nutshell. You can be entirely competent, but you can't be the firm partner that signs off on an audit if you're not a qualified accountant.

The local firms (and govenrment) need to recruit Bermudians BACK here, just like they get the expats to come. If x% of your educated population essentially leaves forever (in terms of being in the workforce or not) then right there you're not going to be able to have as many Bermudians at the highest levels, since a non-trivial percentage of those who would qualify aren't even here to fill the positions.

Onion: while I agree there should be more mentoring going on, it's not as simple as just getting an expat to get a Bermudian trained & up to speed on what happens in a given position. For instance, I can show a lot of people a lot of things, but without spending 3000+ hours studying on their own and writing a series of exams (this is independent of any school/work) they'll never be a qualified actuary. Unfortunately accounting qualifications are even more difficult - you actually have to go to school in an accounting program to even START qualifying (at last in Canada). I also seriously doubt that an expat team leader would be more likely to hire an expat over an equally (or even slightly lesser) qualified Bermudian. Getting an expat is more expensive, both in pure monitary terms (relocation etc) and resources. Simply put, getting an expat in here is a pain in the rear, while hiring a Bermudian is dead simple (if one can be found). There are many many cases where a position is advertised and there are NO responses from anyone on the island. Expats aren't looking out for their own there, they're just trying to fill an need with whoever they can get.

There is a giant chicken/egg problem here, and I think that it would be a huge step in the right direction to first get foreign-educated Bermudians coming back in larger numbers, and secondly an improvement in education so that those who would be prime IB candidates don't need to leave in the first place.

[tilti on 27.02.06 at 13:04]

Onion,
unless your account is a substantiated actual story I fail to see it as anything other than unhelpful. If you are Bermudian with an education and your head screwed on, IB will fight to employ you. Don't have a great education bc the government has messed it up? IB provides a wealth of scholarships, ACE will loan you all the money you need interest free. HSBC and ASPEN will take on graduates and train them from scratch.Almost every IB takes on summer students and employs them post graduation if they are good. If all of this fails - go to the bermuda insurance institute or Bermuda college and get some qualifications.
I really don't know how you substantiate this insidious English-Canadian-American plot to keep Bermudians out of business. It simply does not line up with my own experience as a young Bermudian.

[Lost in Flatts on 27.02.06 at 13:05]

So playing devil's advocate a touch, say you'd been here 15 years, and you had 2 children who had been born here during that time, should after some period they not be given citizenship? Not too long ago that's how each of our roots were planted here.

And as far as the 6 year terms go, I don't think you can argue its not partly designed to help Bermudians get into good positions, even if that's not explicitly stated in the mandate.
Doesn't that six year cycle force the company to advertise the job again, giving all qualified Bermudians a chance to apply?

Onion - In response to your comment, I'm absolutely all for Bermudians in leadership and key positions wherever possible, but I feel we must tread a fine line. If you think about the size of our population versus the number of such positions, it is not realistic to imagine we can produce enough fully-qualified locals to fill the jobs. Imagine a small town in any country, what are the odds of them producing an entire workforce capable of efficiently managing a few dozen major multi-national corporations? Most of the high-level expats here have been highly educated in top schools followed by top universities, probably with a top-drawer professional degree to match. Unfortunately Bermuda cannot produce the quantity of such individuals to fill every spot, or rather we do not at the moment.
Given that, it seems a poor decision to me to force companies to hire a lesser-qualified employee to do an important job, just because of where they happen to have been born.

[Caymana on 27.02.06 at 13:07]

The Cayman Islands may lose up to 20% of its workers due to their implementation of this policy.

http://www.caymannetnews.com/2006/02/1037/mess.shtml

Sometimes you wonder what Alex Scott is actually trying to say. At his speech in Cayman last week he said: “On some days Bermuda and Cayman are competitors. On many other days we are brothers and sisters, regional partners, and almost everyday we are constitutional fellow travellers.”

A fellow traveller is a sympathizer of communism and one who works from the inside to promote a communist revolution.

[Tiger Bay on 27.02.06 at 13:28]

Perhaps Alex Scott is what Lenin allegedly called a "useful idiot".

[pissed in st. georges on 27.02.06 at 13:46]

Will this law be applied to all those Asian workers who are brought in to slave in the kitchens of restaurants and fast food joints when their 6 years is up? I bet not. This law is aimed at people of a certain colour and background.

[Denis Pitcher on 27.02.06 at 13:50]

Onion,

I highly agree that Bermudians could be better trained to fullfill the roles, perhaps through apprentice programs and the like.

Canuck in Bermuda,

The main problem is that young Bermudians simply don't want to come back.

I'm one of those who reciently chose to do so, simply because the opportunity here for my skillset outweighed the negatives.

Lets consider the overall picture: Bermuda has little to offer young Bermudians in terms of an actual future here. I look often for even a condo to invest in and the best I can find starts at 900k, thats some 40k down payment that I just can't afford.

Typically you start at the bottom, well educated or not. You don't get a housing allowance so you usually have to live at home with your parents. The housing situation is so dire that even if you get an apartment, it usually isn't all that great, costs you a fortune and is a huge pain.

Compare this to living abroad - I moved away from a nice apartment building, full ammenities, swimming pool, living right down town paying 1/3 of what I'm paying now for less overall. I can tell you I miss it.

The overall picture needs to be addressed to solve these problems. The problem is that our island has lost the mentality of "maintenance" and is only chasing after quick fixes to everything. Not only in our government but in our people themselves

[SmokingGun on 27.02.06 at 13:53]

"and almost everyday we are constitutional fellow travellers.”

Constitutional fellow traveller could mean to say he's got indepdence on his mind every day. Pity the poor lad has to go to the Caymans to make his comments and can't even face his own people.

[Denis Pitcher on 27.02.06 at 13:54]

I know limey is going to jump all over this one for being off topic, so I'd like to propose it as an open-mike.

A few people have mentioned that government has tried to get input from the people and various other stakeholders in an attempt to make the right decisions.

What has government done and what success have they had in terms of creating "advisory boards, committees, comissions etc" to get feedback from the people in the know on our island and abroad on how to best move forwards.

What overall impact have they had in unifying government in terms of cross ministry initatives?

[thisgrassman on 27.02.06 at 14:11]

Will this law be applied to all those Asian workers who are brought in to slave in the kitchens of restaurants and fast food joints when their 6 years is up? I bet not. This law is aimed at people of a certain colour and background.

Posted by pissed in st. georges on 27.02.06 at 13:46

i would not be too sure...........i read this little nugget today in Calvin Smith's opinion piece:

"If we did not have such carefully developed fears of West Indians, we would not be flooded today with Asians who do not seem too anxious to befriend black Bermudians. Instead we could be flooded with people who look like us and share our common history and ancestry."

Is this not naked xenophobic social engineering? Could be with the right nationality you can be hanging around for some time?

[Onion on 27.02.06 at 14:28]

Lost in Flatts, tilti, Canuck in Bermuda,

I prefaced my comments by agreeing that we need expats and IB to help this economy survive. Yes, there are some highly qualified expats who are in top positions where there are no qualified positions to fill them. More power to them.

But let's be honest here. Firstly, the education system in Bermuda is NOT the primary obstacle keeping Bermudians out of the top jobs. Secondly, expats who ascend up the corporate ladder are not all exactly what you
d call Ivy League quality. Many Bermudians who are presently complaining about the double standards within IB are university educated, intelligent and exposed individuals, some of whom have even worked overseas and have professional designations.

I know expats who I actually went to university with who are now working here in senior positions. They did not better than I at university but it is always assumed by local employers that they have better exposure than their local counterparts.

I hear the argument that there is more incentive to hire a foreigner because it is cheaper. This may be an incentive for smaller international companies, but the larger ones regularly absorb such costs without flinching. In the example I gave above, the English treasurer knows that her job is at risk if she hires the Bermudian with 10 years Wall Street experience (real life example I might add!). She will make the necessary case to the executive that Tim from Canada is better suited for the job than Pete from Bermuda. It's not a conspiracy to keep out Bermudians. It is just human nature that compels someone to look after their own interest. I might even do the same if I was an expat in a hiring position in Bermuda.

Also, many companies, both local and international, prefer to hire an expat because, although it may be more expensive up front, they figure they can work this expat 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. I have sat in job interviews where the interviewer has expressed his concern to me that most Bermudians like to knock off at 4:30pm. His question to me was "Why should I assume you are different?" Unfortunately his prejudice is not unique.

What bothers me is that some of you are implying that to hire the Bermudian over the expat is to hire the lessor qualified. Why do most of you always start from the premise that the international company is in the right (ethically, morally and legally) and the Bermudian is just begging for a position regardless of his qualification?

I understand the argument that 6 year term limits should not be in place for everyone, but to give all companies free reign for all employees will allow the ethically and morally challenged employers among us to further exploit this island and its local work-force.

[loki on 27.02.06 at 14:38]

"If we did not have such carefully developed fears of West Indians, we would not be flooded today with Asians who do not seem too anxious to befriend black Bermudians. Instead we could be flooded with people who look like us and share our common history and ancestry."

I assume that Mr. Smith hasn't given consideration to the amount of xenopobic abuse that many of our asian ex-patriates are subject to on a daily basis. I assume, also, that he didn't witness the Filipino Bermuda Day float being heckled a couple of years ago, and didn't hear the blatantly racist phone calls that flooded the radio talk shows shortly thereafter, complaining about the fact that the Filipino float had been awarded prizes.

[NoVote on 27.02.06 at 14:38]

Lost-In-Flatts: "And as far as the 6 year terms go, I don't think you can argue its not partly designed to help Bermudians get into good positions, even if that's not explicitly stated in the mandate.
Doesn't that six year cycle force the company to advertise the job again, giving all qualified Bermudians a chance to apply?"

NO, the six year limit does not force company's to re-advertise a job, if they want to fill it with an expatriate.

EVERY SINGLE work permit renewal requires readvertising. For most work permits that means every one or two years. In a very small number of exceptional cases, work permits are issued for three years and even more rarely five years (and for the latter we are talking about senior executive management of IB firms).

The existing work permit policies are already providing the mechanism to provide access to opportunities for qualified Bermudians.

The six year term limit does absolutely nothing to advantage Bermudians in the job market other than to make it more expensive to employ expats, which is ultimately just harming the competitiveness of the Bermuda economy....so long-term won't even help Bermudians.

[thisgrassman on 27.02.06 at 14:55]

I assume that Mr. Smith hasn't given consideration to the amount of xenopobic abuse that many of our asian ex-patriates are subject to on a daily basis.

Posted by loki on 27.02.06 at 14:38

Rarely have I been so embarrased and disgusted to be Bermudian as when I had to witnesses the drunken end of evening crowd that converges on the Ice Queen in Paget. After a few "cocktails" the truth serum kicks in and it was appalling to hear the racist shite coming from the mostly Bermudian crowd - black, white and portugese. It is a nonesense to think the asian ex-pat wants to stay here long term given the abuse they face.

[thisgrassman on 27.02.06 at 15:02]

I perhaps need to qualify my last post - every staff member behind the counter was Asian serving this drunken mob yelling racial slurs - obviously directed towards the distant origins of their "service providers"

[SmokingGun on 27.02.06 at 15:05]

"EVERY SINGLE work permit renewal requires readvertising. For most work permits that means every one or two years. In a very small number of exceptional cases, work permits are issued for three years and even more rarely five years (and for the latter we are talking about senior executive management of IB firms)."

OK so I've had my sixth cup and it's becoming a little clearer. But what's with the shouting, it was a heavy week-end.....

At the end of the day what you are saying is that these companies routinely get extensions on the work permits and the Government is simply trying to put a cap on the amount of extensions an ex-pat can get to prevent long term residence. That's fine. Still don't understand why you might think anyone's blurring the issue. We need qualified people to fill the jobs. We do not have enough qualified Bermudians to fill the jobs by a long shot. No matter how many contracts a person might get through they still have to leave after 6 years and we still won't have enough qualified Bermudians to replace them. Maybe we should just lengthen the contracts in the first place get rid of the absolute term limit and do as Vesey suggests, enforce the rules.

[Canuck in Bermuda on 27.02.06 at 15:35]

Onion, good call on the "working you 60+ hrs/week angle" - hadn't thought of that but it could be a factor, no argument there. I haven't experienced it, but I'm sure there are companies that get expats in and grind them down for 2 years... while a Bermudian could (theoretically) walk on a job, expats are a little more stuck and that could be held over their heads.

I definitely concede that there are cases like you describe... though I still hold that in general, a significant barrier to better representation in IB is a lack of educated Bermudians willing to come back like you did. One thing I'm very sure of though is that 6 year limits aren't going to help in the least... Bermudians who are able to fill those positions and are here aren't sitting idle, so all that's going to happen is there'll be a constant rotation of people who'll be even more ignorant about local people/culture than we are now. There was a lot of noise in Canada about 10 years ago about the "brain drain" (you could make double or triple the money in the states so lots of the young, educated, and unattached were leaving) - I dunno if they ever solved that one, but given the number of Canadians I've already met here I suspect it's still a problem. I'm not sure what Bermuda could do to attract foreign-educated Bermudians back, but as someone who DID come back... any thoughts?

[Onion on 27.02.06 at 16:18]

Canuck in Bermuda,

Bermudians have always prided themselves on having a low emigration rate. Most Bermudians going away to university couldn't wait to come home to begin their careers in their home country. I think this has begun to change because educated Bermudians are really starting to feel marginalised in their own country. Most do not feel a part of the corporate high flying team when they enter the work force. It is like they are made to feel like second class citizens in their own country.

As such, many are opting to work in Atlanta, Florida and Canada. They will start out making less money than in Bermuda but their cost of living will be lower and they will have far more career options as they advance.

Also, many Bermudians are tired of working in an environment where locals are suspicious of expats who are suspicious of locals who are suspicious of blacks vs whites etc etc. It becomes a vicious circle of antagonism.

How do we stop this? we must start to look at the value of the "Bermudian". To do this doesn't mean you are being anti- expat. Just pro Bermudian. We must stop setting our sights so low. We must stop telling Bermudians that they should just be happy with a middle managemnt underwriting position and encourage them to go to the top. A Bermudian who works hard and has the right credentials should be made to know that he has every chance of reaching the top as anyone else. We are presently so afraid of upsetting the IB and the expats that we forget the Bermudians. We need strong local leadership in business and politics to be able to stand toe to toe with the leaders in IB to forge strong partnerships that will benefit locals and IB. Presently this does not exist. At best IB will donate some money to charities and local leadership are easily appeased.

Presently, most Bermudians don't have that faith in the system. They work for ACE, XL and RenRe for the free gym membership and the bonus at the end of the year. These are nice perks, but they'll rarely be elevated to any positions of real power. This must change for Bermudians to want to come back home.

[H Reardon on 27.02.06 at 16:40]

Onion,

Some interesting issues you raise--all a result of the very laws/immigration policies that were set up to prevent them.

As background, I've been on the island in the reinsurance and hedge fund industry for several years now, and have employed and worked alongside some very impressive Bermudians and some of the most worthless.

In one instance, one of the worthless ones actually said, "It doesn't matter what I do, you can't fire me. You need me to be a good corporate citizen." I believe he epitomized the phrase "the Bermuda tax." Would this guy have actually applied himself and made something of himself if he couldn't be a "wall sitter" in the office? Is this due to immigration policy? Most definately.

In your example of the English treasurer not wanting to hire the Bermudian, what if there were no special protection/elevated status of a Bermudian? Did the very immgration policy that seeks to get this Bermudian into a good job actually deny him that job?

I think these are perfect examples of what happens when a government tries to muck around with business--these unintended consequences arise. Just get out of my way. I will hire the Bermudian because he is far cheaper. He doesn't need trips home with his family. He doesn't pay US taxes. He didn't come from a nice neighborhood in Stamford, Connecticut with half an acre and 5 bedrooms and now I need to give him an allowance to get the same in Bermuda. I don't need to ship his things, including his 37 foot sailboat onto the island and pay the duty.

If Bermuda wants Bermudians in top positions, then work on the supply side of the equation. Give me the talent pool--I'll use it. Leave the demand side to the employers.

[Onion on 27.02.06 at 16:53]

Reardon,

I know and appreciate the point you are making. However, would you not degree that given th size of Bermuda and its indigenous population there has to still be some form of protectionism in place with respect to immigration? Are you suggesting that we just open up the market completely and do away with work permits altogether? I need a work permit to work in the US and Caribbean, and up until recently I needed one to work in the EU. If jurisdictions as large as these have found it necessary to protect their own populations, how much more necessary is it for a minnow like Bermuda?

[Amati on 27.02.06 at 16:56]

Does anyone have any statistical data on how many expatriate workers in the '80's became long term residents and subsequently status Bermudians? Is the six year term really a benign strategy to prevent this from continuing?