The Royal Gazette sent some questions to Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Wayne Perinchief about the proposed Workforce Equity Act. Here are his responses.

How can business get more black Bermudians when there are 10,000 more jobs than people - won’t it be a case of every time employer “A” staffs up with black Bermudians that Employer “B” loses most of his staff?

The question implies an interpretation of the proposed legislation that is quite inaccurate. The legislation is not meant to be punitive nor numbers driven. The essential element of the proposal is that the basic premise of equality of opportunity is that employers demonstrate intent.

Equality of opportunity is about intent. When CURE conducted interviews with employers in 2004 and 2005, many employers expressed good will and good intention. However, there were none to few written plans or projects or programs. Therefore, the intention and good will was something of a sentiment, rather than a policy or plan.

Companies are asked to ensure that they have documented the provisions they have put in place for all available and potential Bermudian employees and for black Bermudians in particular.

Having such a plan or program documented and established, does not preclude any employers from making opportunities available to all of its employees.

The proposed legislation does not hold employers accountable to outcomes that are outside of their control. It simply asks for better documentation of their efforts, concerted attention to under-representation, and to make special effort to ensure that people who are under-represented in the sectors of their companies, which they identify, be made to recruit and involve those people.

The bill seems to blame employers for the failure to promote black Bermudians but the Government has already acknowledged that Bermuda’s education system has gone badly wrong. Isn’t this inconsistent?

The consultation document lays no blame but identifies a vision for a workforce that is fully inclusive and equitable. It invites employers to pay attention to how it remunerates its employees and on what basis. It asks people in positions of power to pay attention to who gets support in the workforce and who doesn't - what types of allowances are made for which types of people - which people do the policies stringently apply to and which get overlooked?

The proposal invites employers to consider that employment practices are discriminatory in and of themselves and that most business calls lend themselves to a degree of subjectivity. For example, how does one quantify years of experience? Can this process of recruitment ever actually be without a level of discrimination and are parts of it open to inquiry and change.

The proposal does not speak to all factors contributing to the plight of black Bermudians in the workforce nor all approaches needed to promote black Bermudians along with others in the workforce.

A primary task of CURE has been to collect, analyze and report on data regarding race in the workplace. The workforce equity legislation is a natural progression for CURE following reporting on data. In its strategic plan, CURE clearly documents that it intends and needs to have more access to employers for follow-up.

If both are factors what weight do you attach to each one?

Again, the question lends itself to the notion that this proposal is driven primarily by statistics. Although the levels of representation of blacks are quite skewed, there is recognition that many factors play into moving towards an equitable, prosperous and representative society.

The legislation clearly stipulates that the statistics are to be used only as benchmarks. Any good plan or policy commitment must be driven by some form of measurement. However, that the ultimate objective is to fill some form of quota is misguided as clearly stated in the proposal.

Race equity will require the efforts of many and the systemic change of several systems. This proposal represents one area where change need to occur. The change that is encouraged is from a position of documentation around policy, procedures and strategic planning. The belief is that if we start to get some of the systems "right", results will eventually follow.

The hope is that in 10 to 15 years from now, the Bermuda workforce as a whole will have clearly delineated plans and statements of purpose on these issues that will assure any employee that they will have equal and uninhibited access to success in the workforce.

While CURE engages its mandate through the Workforce Equity Legislation it continues to recommend and support education initiatives that are championed by other entities established to provide direct attention to education mandates.

CURE's education initiatives will complement its direct attention to monitoring Workforce Equity initiatives.

Will it lead to more black ex-pats as companies scramble to improve their demographic?

If companies are "scrambling to improve their demographic" they may have missed the point. We would like to see employers scrambling to demonstrate that they have given serious attention to how discrimination plays a role in their organisations. If, for example, the employer offers a training program in its office (already) and they find that there are very few people who are generally under-represented in the workforce, taking advantage, this legislative proposal would invite the employer to examine that issue.

An employer that is working consistent with equality of opportunity standards will then examine the problem and if it turns out that people didn't know - address it. Or if some of their employees were reluctant to apply, then explore it¿ Equality of opportunity does not mean creating extra programs, specifically, but targeting in on a problem and exploring it and dealing with its consequences in a very real way.

If black Bermudians are not available in the short-term to service workforce needs, it would seem reasonable for companies to open recruitment opportunities to guest workers who qualify from groups that reflect Bermuda's demographics.

It must be noted that since the legislation is about process and not about outcomes, there is no need for companies to scramble to meet a quota whether from black Bermudians or from black ex-pats.

How is it not quotas? The Bill wants companies to be representative of the workforce so if a company only has 20 percent of its staff which are black Bermudians then surely it knows it has a quota to hit by making it match the countries demographics?

A quota is a set number that must be filled. As companies look at their demographic, they will note areas of under-representation. They will want to know to what extent they are under-represented and where the key areas are. How else will they know how to structure a policy or programme or plan? They will also know the extent to which they can make change in an area and the extent to which change is out of their control.

The company therefore establishes a goal, keeping these very real issues in mind. The goal may be to maintain their level of representation. The goal may be to improve levels of involvement in a programme. The goal or programme may have very little to do with representation in the short-term at all and more to do with educational programming or training-the goal in this way might be very future oriented.

A goal established by a company will take into consideration the time and strategy required for its progressive realisation. The goal that is established is not imposed by legislation but a responsible position taken by a company in the execution of its work equity plan.

The Work Equity Plan of a company is "self-regulated"/ self-monitored. CURE's function is one of auditing the process.

Will it lead to the demotion of white Bermudians?

No. This proposal has very little to do with the promotion or advancement of people of all races. The emphasis is placed on documentation of process and "quality assurance". The proposal will in fact help everyone as employers really scrutinize the way in which they work, and the processes related to resource management.

To give particular attention to the needs of historically marginalized Black Bermudians does not negate the requirement to provide fair and equal access to opportunity in the workplace for all Bermudians.

Will it de-motivate everybody - whites in power will be looking over their shoulder while whites on the bottom of the rung will feel they will never rise, meanwhile blacks will assume they are assured of promotion whatever they do?

To the contrary, a culture of fairness and mutual respect for all people, no longer excluding a historically marginalized group, should provide greater motivation for all who believe that no Bermudian should be denied the opportunities for employment except for lack of interest or lack of ability to perform a required job.

The issue of entitlement - black Bermudians who take advantage of opportunities for promotion would be expected to benefit accordingly. If opportunities are squandered and if required preparation for a job is not satisfied, no one should expect to be hired or to be promoted or benefited otherwise based solely on the color of their skin.

As well, any employer that promotes or advances someone solely on the basis of the race is not working from within the spirit of this proposal.

Will it encourage companies to leave? Is Government prepared to lose companies?

Companies who have at heart both their interests, as well as the interests of developing the citizens of the country where they are established, will remain in Bermuda and operate as good corporate citizens.

While Government would not like to lose any of its guest companies, it recognizes that every company who has joined our workforce has come by choice and is free to exercise choice as they deem best.

Why is there no need to fix companies if they have too many blacks?

If a company has all black employees in a country where the majority of the locals are black, is probably doing something very right. One would want to focus on these employers as employers of excellence in equality of opportunity and to try to assess how they are managing to be representative. If we were speaking of a competitive sport, and to a winning team, it would seem very unreasonable to ask that team to practice more or differently, when the teams that have not experienced such successes, go unattended.

Presumably, when we have a Bermuda that has reached anywhere near its demographic benchmarks, a legislative commitment may be unnecessary.

All companies with 40 or more employees are required by Workforce Equity Legislation to establish workforce equity plans that provide employment opportunity to reflect Bermuda's racial demographics.

Fair and equal access to opportunity must be extended to all in any company. Ultimately, Bermudians whether black or white or other are free to choose whether they will avail themselves to those opportunities.

Legislation will ensure that work equity processes are employed hopefully leading to better outcomes, but legislation does not require imposed outcomes.

Have international rights been violated by singling out one particular group. What about women? What about Portuguese?

Race and racism have a historical legacy in this country. Nothing in this proposal stops any employer for advancing the causes of any group they wish. The proposal requires that the efforts that will benefit blacks be documented and reported upon. The proposal was drawn from comprehensive study of work in other countries, namely, Canada, South Africa and the UK.

Where else has this been tried?/Does it work?

Given that the proposal requires documentation of process, it will work. Some countries have gone to the extent of imposing quotas and the like. This legislation does not as the success of such regimes is questionable. As well, given the multi-faceted problem of racism in Bermuda, and the pool of labour, it is just not feasible to make such stringent requirements.

What is the consultation period now?

Stakeholders have been asked to provide responses by October 31, 2007. However, the stakeholder consultation process has been active since 2005. We have had very specific responses to parts of the proposal on an ongoing basis.