Legislation making the payment of overtime mandatory was passed in the House of Assembly last night amid protestations by the United Bermuda Party that the bill would hurt more than it helped.

Concerns about the cost of doing business, the effect on foreign workers, flexibility for smaller businesses and enforcing the bill were all raised by the Opposition.

Their concerns did not sway Government, however, with the priority of preventing the exploitation of workers overruling any protest.

Though the amendments do clean up other aspects of the Employment Act 2000, it was the clause pertaining to overtime which received all the attention in the House last night.

Previously the Act allowed for a mutual agreement between employers and employees to opt out of paying overtime. This amendment removes that opt-out clause, making the payment of time over 40 hours per week imperative.

?On overtime rates we have relied on ILO (International Labour Organisation) guidelines,? Labour Minister Randy Horton stated last night.

?The cost of the payment of overtime will increase costs,? he added later. ?But businesses in Bermuda are enterprising and will find ways to remain competitive.

?The key question, is to what extent do we really value labour as a key input to the economy? ... Why should the sacrifice of cutting costs be borne on the workers??

The very workers Government is attempting to help may end up footing the bill for the increased costs, the Opposition warned.

Under the new overtime pay scale, Shadow Economic Empowerment Minister David Dodwell argued, it may actually become more cost-effective for an employer to employ an entirely new worker for 40 hours of straight pay than to pay another worker for 30 hours of overtime.

That scenario led to dual concerns, the first being what would happen to the worker originally working the overtime. As Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin pointed out, workers do not usually work overtime for fun, but to pay the bills.

The second concern related to where an employer would hire the new employee from. In a country suffering from over-employment, the Opposition raised the possibility that employers would import more workers from overseas ? with all that implies.

Mr. Dodwell also questioned the ability of Government to police employers, with Government backbencher George Scott noting there are already examples of employers who are not adhering to the original Employment Act 2000. Questions about the processes small businesses could go through to be exempted from the law were also raised.

Noting Government has the majority and the bill will pass, Shadow Labour Minister Maxwell Burgess called on Government to meet with stakeholders Monday morning to get those opposing the bill on board. Failure to do so, he said, will only undermine its success ? an observation Mr. Horton agreed with wholeheartedly.

See more coverage of Parliament on Pages 4 and 6.