The head of an association representing the majority of construction employers in Bermuda has condemned discrimination in the workplace.Charles Dunstan, president of the Construction Association of Bermuda, was speaking after a Human Rights Commission board of inquiry ruling that Apex Construction Management Ltd wanted black Bermudians on the job site in order to justify work permits, but had no real intention of promoting or training black Bermudians for the job.The case was brought by Pernell Grant who believed he was being treated less favourably by the company in favour of short-term contract workers from Poland and Canada.Mr Dunstan said if Apex was a member of the Association, it would probably be expelled and added: “Any form of employment discrimination in this day and age is unacceptable.“We require all member firms to agree to, and sign off on, a strict code of conduct. One of the major planks of this code requires all members to actively pursue a sincere commitment to activities beneficial to the future of Bermuda’s construction industry.“Complaints of this nature received about member firms would receive serious consideration by the Board, with expulsion the likely result.”Mr Dunstan added: “One of the major planks in our code of conduct requires all members to actively pursue a sincere commitment to Bermudianisation, recruitment and training.”Asked if he believed what happened with Mr Grant occurs frequently, he said: “I have heard rumours of that type of activity.”The 15-page ruling said Apex “had absolutely no intention of training or promoting Bermudians generally, or black Bermudians in particular”. Instead they “wanted black faces in the hole,” to support their claims for work permits for contract workers.It also found “there was ample evidence that black Bermudians were employed with no realistic prospect of advancement and no realistic hope of being trained merely to appease the Department of Immigration”.Mr Grant also claimed he was denied the opportunity to work overtime and said he suffered reprisals based on either “staged” or false complaints used to justify his job termination. He worked for Apex from September, 2006 to April, 2009.But the board did not agree and found that Mr Grant “insisted on being paid one-and-a-half times base wage for work beyond 40 hours”, and that other Bermudians, together with the foreign workers, worked overtime for straight pay.Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert said the case was a great victory, not just for Mr Grant, but for construction workers generally.“I’m pleased that Pernell was able to win his case, he has been very persistent over the years making sure he had his day in court, so to speak; recognising that he always felt he was well within his rights to file a case of discrimination.“Quite frankly, I’m surprised the ruling came down the way it did. In all fairness to this board, we’ve had several boards go against the workers in favour of employers.”Mr Furbert added: “The Immigration Department needs to take a long hard look at these companies applying for work permits for workers with different skill sets with the understanding that you cannot just give blanket approval without making absolutely sure there are no Bermudians qualified for the job.“My initial reaction is that we at the BIU have always suspected, in fact known, that there are firms that treat foreign workers better than Bermudians on a number of levels. We hear it almost daily from members of the public and from our own members in general. Now more than ever it is important for employers to abide by the law and not use the recession as an excuse.”The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Patrice Minors told The Royal Gazette, “We are still reviewing the outcome of this particular case, and at this stage it would be premature to offer further comment.”No one was available from Apex for comment.