Collector of Customs Winifred Fostine-Desilva has denied Bermudians are being bypassed for posts - despite now searching overseas for a new number two.

She said foreign applicants were being sought for the Assistant Collector, Travellers and Enforcement post because there was no one on the Island who had the required degree plus five years senior management experience.

One source complained it was the first time a degree had been a requirement.

The source said: "She has overlooked the Bermudian applicants from within Customs and has told them that if they wish to be a candidate for the upcoming understudy position in two years time they must attend Bermuda College to get a degree."

However Mrs. Fostine-Desilva said, with the exception of one employee, the department had always employed a university graduate in the post, or someone with the equivalent qualification such as in the senior management development programme.

The letter also raised the case of one employee with a Master's degree and 20 years experience. But Mrs. Fostine-Desilva said that employee was a senior Customs officer but did not have the management experience required.

She said: "This is a senior level executive post we are talking about. It's one down from the Collector of Customs. They fill in for the Collector."

She said she was fully committed to making the customs department fully Bermudianised and the department only had two expatriates in posts - one of whom would be leaving by the end of the financial year.

Mrs. Fostine-Desilva said posts were vetted by the Public Services Commission who would not have sanctioned foreign headhunting if there had been a suitable local candidate.

The source said some senior Customs officers had filed grievances with the Bermuda Public Service Union.

BPSU president Nigel Pemberton said: "I can't comment because meetings are ongoing."