Bermuda's prison officers and called on the Health and Social Services Minister to stop "looking for the head'' of his commissioner of Prisons.

"In the Westminster system of democracy it is not civil servants who pay the price for errors -- it is the minister in charge,'' said Mr. Wade, who was addressing the Kiwanis Club on "Bermuda's future from a Bermudianisation Point of View''.

He said if the recent controversial events which sparked considerable adverse publicity of the prisons system had occurred in England "the minister in charge would have long since tendered his resignation''.

Among the list of those events was the escape of a convicted murderer by bus from Casemates Prison and a steamy strip show put on by prison officers at their club.

"They (prison officers and the commissioner) can only work with what the minister (the Hon. Quinton Edness) gives them,'' Mr. Wade said. "In our system civil servants are never held responsible, it is always the minister in charge.'' Mr. Wade called on Bermudians to "take a stand'' if Mr. Edness attempts to bring in an expatriate to take over from retiring Prisons commissioner Mr.

Milton Pringle.

He commended the Prisons system for succeeding in Bermudianising staff, especially prison officers.

Mr. Wade said Government currently had "no will to Bermudianise this Country''.

He cited Telco and the Bermuda Electric Light Company as "outstanding'' examples of companies who have made the effort to Bermudianise staff from top to bottom even though a high level of technical skill is required.

"Telco and Belco are examples where investment in training and education has produced Bermudianisation,'' he said.

"It is (the Progressive Labour Party's) intention that Bermudians should be the first hired and the last fired....The employment aspect of Bermudianisation as we envisioned has not materialised.'' Mr. Wade claimed "many jobs in these recessionary times'' are held by non-Bermudians while Bermudians remain unemployed or underemployed.

"Government must require the private sector to educate, train and re-train,'' he said.