“It is completely dishonest for Minister Fahy to say that our Bermudian children and future generations will not be affected by this legislation. The reality is that there are PRC holders who have children. They will be granted status and their children will become Bermudian. The reality is that the majority of PRCs are white. The majority of PRCs will be fairly well connected. Accordingly, it is those Bermudians who will get the jobs, thereby displacing our Bermudian children.”

— OBA MP Leah Scott, March 2016

Upon reading this, many Bermudians saw confirmation of their greatest fears in regards to the consequences of the One Bermuda Alliance’s proposed Pathways To Status. For most parents, even before this internal e-mail became public, they knew that Bermudians would be displaced by this policy and as such took to the streets and the Hill for five days.

There was simply no way that Bermudians would sit down and allow Michael Fahy to bring in policy that would almost surely put the future welfare of their children on the sidelines. There were parents of every persuasion out on the frontline and working behind the scenes.

The attached graph depicts the percentage of workers in select occupations by status, highlighting many areas where focus should be placed on retraining or retooling our unemployed Bermudians. In a prime example, 80 per cent of bakers in Bermuda are non-Bermudian. Surely, there are Bermudians who can bake or train to be certified bakers, thus taking up these positions as work permits end.

Looking at the graphs, one can clearly see the following numeric realities:

• 76 per cent of chef positions are filled by work permit or permanent resident certificate holders

• 74 per cent of our butcher positions filled by work permit or PRC holders

• 66 per cent of waiter positions are filled by work permit or PRC holders

• 65 per cent of landscaper positions are filled by work permit or PRC holders

• 60 per cent of our tiler positions filled by work permit or PRC holders

• 44 per cent of our mason positions filled by work permit or PRC holders

Some questions that must be raised are:

Why are the majority of waiters non-Bermudian? Is it because Bermudians are not interested in the trade? Or is it because the pay is too low?

Sadly, we cannot rely on government legislation to ensure that ourselves or our children are protected in the job market.

Bermudians have found their voice and are willing to take on the OBA and Progressive Labour Party in one way or the other. They are willing to march, occupy Cabinet, occupy Parliament, or whatever else is needed.

What is also needed is for parents to ensure that their children are studying for occupations in which there are significant need of persons in that given field. Prime examples: chefs, accountants.

Employers are in the pole position and are able to look at a list of hundreds of applicants for any given job. So they can pick, choose and refuse anyone they wish.

Each one that finds themselves unemployed or underemployed must look to retool themselves in fields that have openings. Each of us as parents must make sure that our children are preparing themselves for academic or technical qualifications and certifications. In doing so, we ensure that our children will not have to #occupyparliament.