By Raymond Hainey Hard facts and figures will help to explode myths about overseas workers, said Development and Opportunity Minister Terry Lister.

And he said he hoped accurate statistics from the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality would end the racial divide on thinking about work permits.

Mr. Lister was speaking after a new survey revealed that black Bermuda residents are six times more likely to think there are too many overseas workers on the Island.

He said: "The part that is a bit worrisome -- which is where CURE really does come in and help -- is that seven percent of whites who thought maybe we had too many expatriates, while 40 percent of blacks thought there were.

"What is troublesome, if you can use that term, is we have that racial divide where blacks see things one way and whites another.

"That is something that, in the medium term, we have to work on, try to eliminate.

"It's continually worrying that both races can look at something and have such wide differences of opinion.'' And Mr. Lister added: "A lot of it goes back to myth -- `I think this must be true' -- but until we can get as much of the myth off the table as we can, we will continue to have this divide in thinking.

"People can have a personal opinion after seeing the facts, but just now they don't have the facts to base an opinion on.'' He added: "As CURE figures come in and separate fact from fiction, people can start to realise what the realities are.'' The controversial CURE regulations -- currently stalled after Senate voted last month to block them -- were aimed at getting accurate statistics on the racial breakdown in the workplace.

Any firm with ten employees or more would have had to register with CURE and provide an annual breakdown on race, employment level and income of the workforce.

Companies would also have had to provide information on the racial breakdown of job applicants and a list of people who quit, by race and giving a reason.

Employees would have been asked to fill in forms giving their ethnic origin, job, pay and perks, while job applicants would be required to give race and post applied for.

Firms failing to register or provide requested information would be liable for fines of between $1,000 and $5,000.

Business chiefs said that -- while they supported equal opportunity -- the CURE regulations meant too much red tape and complained of insufficient consultation before the legislation went to the House of Assembly.

Government -- which has now set up a series of road shows to canvass public opinion on the legislation -- has the option of amending the regulations and re-submitting them to Senate, or waiting a year and bypassing the Upper House altogether.

According to the latest available figures, Bermuda has a workforce of around 35,300, with Bermudians filling more than 27,250 posts and non-Bermudians taking just over 8000 of the available jobs -- 23 percent of the total.

Mr. Lister said: "No one really knows what the figures for expatriate workers should be.

"What I do know and feel comfortable saying is that, as we put more time into sustainable development, we will start to get a handle on where the numbers ought to be.

"For me, sustainable development is asking what levels of economic and other activity we can withstand in the community without damaging the community and without causing the quality of life to decline.'' The survey also showed a slight majority overall believed the number of work permits was about right, while a whopping 86 percent, regardless of their position on the numbers game, felt expatriates make a positive contribution to the economy.

A total of 63 percent felt expatriates made a major contribution to the economy, while 23 percent feel the contribution was "moderate''.

Mr. Lister said: "I would have felt the number of people who felt the contribution was positive would have been far greater.

"I would have thought people would have been honest enough to say that these people do make a great contribution.'' He added: "I would hope and believe, with the efforts of CURE -- and even without the efforts of CURE -- people would realise that people on work permits do contribute to the community.

"Look at how these people spend their money -- they buy cars, which is good for the car guys, they pay rent and help Bermudians own houses they might otherwise not own because they pay their mortgages through their rents.

"And they serve on charities and things like that -- there is no doubt Bermuda benefits.'' Terry Lister