Bermudian construction workers are being laid off in the middle of a construction boom on the Island while guest workers ? including some who are working on the Island illegally ? are being kept in employment, Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert claimed yesterday.

After learning that at least two illegal workers who were caught earlier this year are still on the Island and doing work, he said enough is enough.

Now Mr. Furbert is calling on construction firms to abide by the rules and ensure that no skilled Bermudian worker is left unemployed when imported workers are still gainfully in work.

And the BIU president has spoken directly to Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton to seek action to ensure that Bermudian construction workers are not displaced by guest workers and that they are given equal pay and bonuses for doing the same job.

?We have Bermudian construction workers being laid off while guest workers are still working.

?And this is in the middle of a construction boom. It would not happen anywhere else in the world and it shouldn?t be happening here,? said Mr. Furbert.

?There are some employers who are doing the right thing but there are a few out there that have still to come to grips with this.

?You could not go to Canada and put a Canadian out of work.

?I have spoken to the Minister and told him we have serious concerns. The Government has a policy that Bermudians should be the last to be laid off. In almost every other country it is the same.?

The BIU leader said: ?Of the guest workers that were found working illegally several weeks ago at least two are still on the Island.

?The Minister has asked for the names of these workers.

?Somers Construction are being defiant of the Government because these workers were meant to have been deported.?

And he added: ?We should address the question of equal pay for equal work in accordance with the Human Rights Act. If workers are working side-by-side they should get similar amounts of pay for the same work.?

He said local workers also do not get the housing and travel allowances that guest workers receive.

?I want to encourage workers to stand up for their rights. Some people think that employers have all the rights and employees have none. Everyone?s rights needs to be respected,? said Mr. Furbert.

When asked for a response to the criticism of Somers Construction regarding the deportation of illegal workers, a spokesman for the company yesterday declined to comment.