Use our noise laws

August 23, 2006

Dear Sir,

I write in full support of Chick-of-the Village?s letter regarding noise pollution. Where are all the Police Officers? Are they blind and deaf? The Vancouver Police Force has recently equipped some of their officers with hand held decibel readers. Legislators supported the Police force by increasing fines and encouraging enforcement in order to provide a healthier environment for the citizens. In Bermuda we have the added inconsideration of motorists and boat operators who insist on playing loud music. Is there a law? If so, when was the last time it was enforced? Are our politicians listening?

Service starts at the top

August 18, 2006

Dear Sir,

Customer service training for super hosts is a long overdue training opportunity for some persons; in the service industry who quite frankly do not understand what good service means. Not only does this apply to the tourism industry but also in the local service industry, not forgetting our very own government and civil service. For a long time now I thought we were the friendliest people in the world or did someone, lying to us, know that this title was long gone to other countries? Examples of good service must start at the top and when attempting to train people in any industry it is important to lead by example.

Our current government has long forgotten the meaning of good customer service. Their customers are being ignored on a regular basis and in particular when it comes to the matter of the future of their country. In any normal company such as Bermuda Inc. when the shareholders speak out in favour of a unanimous resolution and the Directors ignore that resolution the Directors normally resign under pressure or are removed at the earliest opportunity. Service is service and it applies to everyone including the persons selected to run this country.

GPS is a failure

August 28, 2006

Dear Sir,

When is the Government going to wake up and realise GPS is a complete mess and a failure. You have the new BTA service openly stating that out of 350 cars, 200 don?t turn the device on. This must send a message to TCD of the failure of the system when it was claimed by Government that GPS will see success. Success where?

Then you have Radio Cabs taxi still using two-way radio along with taxi Co-op. Government should bite the bullet and withdraw the GPS plan. Then we come to the Public Licensing Board, whose members have never driven a taxi in their lives, telling the taxi owners how to run his/her business which he has paid fairly for.

Industry responds

August 28, 2006

Dear Sir,

The Construction Association of Bermuda (CAOB) has been hearing the industry?s name being mentioned in news reports and in comments made by members of the Bermuda Industrial Union and other worker?s spokespersons. Public interest in the industry has been heightened recently, and we therefore feel it is necessary to provide as much information as possible about our Association and its members to the public. The CAOB is a representative body of the best firms in the industry.

Not only do we represent some of the largest local companies, but almost 80 percent of our member firms have less than 25 employees. In total, our firms employ almost half of the 3,000 people working in construction in Bermuda. Our organisation does not represent everyone in the industry, only those firms willing to adhere to a strict Code of Conduct which requires, among other things, a commitment to professionalism, best practice and Bermudianisation.

In fact, despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary, our members employ a ratio of non-Bermudians which is approximately the same as the national average for Bermuda?s total workforce. Our commitment to Bermudianisation has driven us to become a very active partner in recruitment and training with Government and the National Training Board. Our members support 80 percent of the Bermudians currently receiving formal Apprenticeship Training in the trades, and our Board acts as Accredited Training Sponsor and general overseer of the Government?s apprenticeship training scheme.

This scheme has recently grown to include formal trades training at the high school level, which will hopefully generate renewed interested in technical education from our young people. The CAOB also raises funds for post-secondary education scholarships, which in the last three years has resulted in three young Bermudian males currently studying construction management programs in colleges and universities overseas at a cost of over $45,000 per year. New candidates are sought every year and interest in careers in construction management disciplines has been growing as a result.

Concerns expressed recently regarding the improper use of expatriate labour concern the CAOB as well. Our members go to great lengths to adhere to the rules and regulations of the Department of Immigration, and to recruit and train Bermudians. Companies abusing the system and expatriate workers, are not good corporate citizens, and for all intents and purposes gain unfair advantage over those of us trying to do right by the industry and the community.

We would add our voice to that of the BIU and other representative groups calling for fair and consistent enforcement of the Dept.. of Immigration regulations. There are a number of contentions however, that are based on misconceptions. Expatriate workers do not make substantially more or less than a similarly qualified Bermudian, and this is ensured by the fact that the Immigration Dept. reviews all applications, and cross checks against market wages.

Additionally, we are finding that there is overemployment of qualified Bermudian tradesman, which has raised wages across the board, to the obvious benefit of employees across the industry. Also contrary to some opinions, companies following the rules and regulations of the Department of Immigration find that it is much expensive to employ expatriate labour and expertise, and would definitely prefer to employ qualified Bermudians instead. We have also heard suggestions that construction workers are sometimes required to work more than a basic 40 hour week.

This is not the case with our members and any such practice is wrong and cannot be justified. Any such requirements would be against the spirit of the Employment Act, by which we abide. However, we have found that a vast majority of workers enjoy the freedom to choose whether they would like to work hours in addition to 40, if they and their employer agree to it. In a poll we conducted of individual workers from our member companies, 92 percent supported this view.

The CAOB is eager to form partnerships with Government and other stakeholders, including the Union and workers, to improve all aspects of the industry. We see things like trade certification, apprenticeship training and education, and consistent application of the rules and regulations of operating in Bermuda, as key components to its success. We hope that constructive dialogue can continue to work towards that end.

Solutions for latchkey kids

August 20, 2006

Dear Sir,

I posted the following on a local Blog as a response to talks regarding Bermuda?s gangs and possible solutions. It was suggested that I post it in the Letters to the Editor section of the paper to get it to a wider audience. It is not the typical bring back the Cat-o-nine, increase police presence and re-implement ?Cleansweep? solution; rather, it is a long term plan aiming at improving our only real asset in Bermuda, its people.

It?s not a thorough plan as much as it is a suggestion as to how I believe we can address the problem of gangs and violence closer to the root cause, as well as greatly improve the quality of life for our future citizens. Bermuda is a small village that has adopted the separatist attitudes of its close neighbours. I believe rather than following, we can be a model country for other nations struggling to control similar issues of violence declining education standards and the like. The following is the caption from the Web log:

When you?re involved in positive things, you don?t have time to get involved in negative ones. Children need structured time. For the majority of the day, school provides this structure. However, there is a huge gap in time between when students are released from the structure of school and when they are taken into the structure of the home. For many, the home itself does not have the sufficient structure to give children the background that they need to become functioning adults.

Children experiencing this phenomenon where given the name Latchkey kids back in the 1940s and the term was popularised again in the 80s. If you search the term you will see a list of effects including the following from Wikipedia:

?The effects of being a latchkey child differ with age. Loneliness, boredom and fear are most common for those younger than 10 years of age. In the early teens, there is a greater susceptibility to peer pressure resulting in alcohol abuse, smoking and sexual experimentation.?

Without debating the reasons why this phenomenon exists, as the reasons for the lack of parenting change with the times and across demographics, we can still consider how to counteract this effect as a country. I have laid out a few suggestions before and will do so again because this is a more appropriate thread, and I look forward to reading other suggestions and hearing the pro?s and con?s of the lot. My suggestions:

1) Incorporate extra-curricular activities into the curriculum as a requisite for promotion to the next year. Activities should have a focus on early childhood development in addition to the skills provided in school. Target age group would be somewhere in the region of Primary 1 ? Secondary Graduation. Examples of these activities may include youth groups, music lessons, sports teams, debate teams, Duke of Edinburgh, vocational/Technical Studies etc.. The groups should be included in a database of acceptable activities and should be monitored to ensure that the qualifying activity meets a minimum standard to be allowed in the database.

2) Incorporate community service into the curriculum as a requisite for promotion to the next year. Activities should have a focus on civic engagement, nationalism, and adolescent development with aspects of discipline, morale, and self esteem us underlying elements. This mandate may be fulfilled through the extra curricular activities when applicable as extra curricular activities will remain a requisite for this target age group in addition to community service. Activities such as Sea Cadets, Duke of Edinburgh that have a volunteer aspect would fulfil this mandate. Target age group would be somewhere in the region of Secondary 1 ? Secondary Graduation.

Examples of community service include volunteer work such as promotion to senior positions in extra curricular youth groups, Habitat for Humanity, Reading to the blind, neighbourhood cleanup, etc.. The community service should be included in a database of acceptable activities and should be monitored to ensure that the qualifying activity meets a minimum standard to be allowed in the database.

3) A Governing Body to oversee the administration of groups that qualify or wish to qualify as host groups to the mandatory extra-curricular activity and community service.

4) Expansion of the number and role of truancy officers to aid the governing body in monitoring involvement in extra curricular and community service activities as well as ensuring host groups maintain acceptably high standards.

5) Qualified officers involved in providing education to those adults already involved and dedicated to community activities such as coaches, after school care givers, youth centre employees etc., so that their time involved with our youth is better utilised and of continually increasing quality with the aim that the youth brought through these programs will maintain such a standard as some will eventually become adult volunteers.

6) Regiment service should begin at the age of 16 or after high school graduation, and should be expanded to include all female and male nationals. The list of exemptions from Regiment service should be expanded to include those activities in the community service database that meet an acceptably high mandate, allowing for continuation of volunteer service to various youth groups charities etc. where an administrative or leadership role has been taken charge of by the individual.

Unfriendly at TCD

August 23, 2006

Dear Sir,

I would really appreciate a few lines in your daily paper to advise the members of the public who use the TCD, that all of the TCD personnel are not as friendly or efficient as they would have us believe. I called TCD this afternoon at 15 minutes past 4 p.m., and a kindly lady told me they closed the doors at 4.30. I arrived at TCD at 4.25 (I work in town), and went to the counter to get a number. Now there was only one other person being served, and two attendants, so when I was asked what kind of transaction I needed, and that was a ?transfer?, I was quite bluntly told that those processes were not done after 3.30. Hmmmmmm.

I then asked the attendant how long it might take her to do this type of process, to which she replied, about 15 minutes. I then suggested to her, that if she started the process at that time, she would be finished at 4.45 at the latest. She would not consider trying to please a customer. As I turned to leave, out of the back door (as the main doors were locked spot on 4:30), I noticed a number of brochures proclaiming how TCD was customer focused. I?m afraid I have to disagree. I thought things had changed. Perhaps only when it is ?convenient?. Well, at least everyone was able to go home early, again.

A note of thanks

August 15, 2006

Dear Sir,

I, Marlene Minks, would like to extend my Heartfelt Thanks to everyone who assisted, called, sent flowers and prayed for me during my untimely illness. I would like to say ?Thank You, Thank You, Thank You? to Dr. Dalton of KEMH Emergency Department for his decisions on testing and Dr. Terence Elliott.

A special ?Thank You? to the Medical Team: Eloise Bell and David Pilgrim, and the Pilots who flew the late David Barber?s Air Ambulance, Ed Chrusical and Bermudian Sheldon Smith for their outstanding professionalism in care and safety.

I also extend my Heartfelt Thanks to the LCCA, Dr. Edward Jewell and his team of Doctors at the Lahey Clinic, Burlington Mass. also to Gail Paradiso, Roberta Pellerin and Donald Boudreau of Boston for their outstanding warm hospitality during my convalescence period in Boston. To my Children, Mom, Sister and Brother, Thank You and I Love You. May God Bless and Protect you all.