Two high-profile PLP members are starting a consulting company to help foreign workers get more attuned to the Bermudian way of life.

PLP members Rolfe Commissiong and George Scott are in the process of incorporating Black Star Communications Ltd. The business will provide cultural seminars and market research for the international sector.

"We are going to be a consultancy advising international business that are located here how they can interact with the local community in terms of marketing and sales,'' Mr. Commissiong said yesterday.

He said the company would also focus on consulting on interpersonal relationships, holding seminars for new foreign workers in the ways of Bermudians, and Bermuda.

Mr. Commissiong said the company could provide seminars for Bermudian workers in the international sector so they can learn how to better interact with foreign workers.

"It's about interpersonal relations between foreign and local workers,'' he said. "Take the `Good morning' greeting. It's a major thing on the Bermuda social radar. It can be a major stumbling block if someone comes in and doesn't say `Good morning'. It may appear to be superficial and not seem important. But it is an important thing to Bermudians. But Bermudians also need to understand that foreigners come from a work environment where that is not a requirement. Bermudians should not take it as an attitude or a sign of rudeness.'' Mr. Commissiong said Black Star would advise companies on local promotion opportunities by finding appropriate cultural events or other activities they can fund. "We will help them maximise their name recognition in the community,'' he said.

Mr. Commissiong is a former sales agent for TeleBermuda International Ltd., and a PLP insider who's been disciplined in the past for his outspoken comments to the media. As a PLP candidate, he made an unsuccessful bid for the Paget East seat in the 1994 by-election. He was named yesterday as a member of the new Telecommunications Commission.

George Scott works as a firefighter at the Airport and is a staunch trade unionist who was an unsuccessful PLP candidate for Paget West in the November general election.

Rolfe Commissiong George Scott