Labour and Immigration Minister the Hon. J. Irving Pearman highlighted some of his Ministry's accomplishments as the Throne Speech debate continued in the House of Assembly on Friday evening.

"We have bus-boy programmes, waiter training, and chef courses going on in our major hotels,'' he said, adding that this was not offered 10 years ago because Bermudians were not there to fill the jobs.

Mr. Pearman also said the Ministry had not only carried out investigations every year since 1990 to find out how many Bermudians were displaced, but it had also gathered more information to "ensure a tighter link between the granting of work permits and training Bermudians''.

An example of this was the position of executive administrator at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital which will soon be filled by a qualified Bermudian, he said.

Through meetings with the Hospitals' Board, Mr. Pearman said, the hiring of non-Bermudians to fill the post was able to come to an end.

Another example, he said, was "a large supermarket chain'' which had been constantly bringing in foreign managers.

The Ministry also met with those running the supermarket and encouraged them to introduce a manager-training scheme which was working, he said.

Referring to the Labour side of the Ministry, Mr. Pearman said it was trying to improve the level of trust between workers and management.

"There's been a level of success,'' he said, "but not to the level one would like to see.'' While noting that the Labour Advisory Council had tried to address some of the outstanding labour issues, Mr. Pearman lashed out at an article in Friday's issue of The Royal Gazette .

In the article, unidentified sources accused Bermuda Industrial Union president and Opposition MP Mr. Ottiwell Simmons of holding up the Council's work by saying the Labour Minister must first settle the union's festering gratuities dispute with hotels.

However, Mr. Pearman said he could not stand by and see Mr. Simmons take the blame for something he did not say nor do.

"It is unfair when you're trying to get the parties to take responsibility to have that kind of thing leaked when it is untrue,'' Mr. Pearman said.

Describing what in fact took place, he said he called a meeting with the union and HEB to discuss amending or repealing the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board legislation.

"During the second meeting,'' he said, "Mr. Simmons asked that we not remove or repeal the legislation at this time because there was still a dispute between the BIU and the HEB and we should not discuss amending or repealing this until that matter was resolved.

"The honourable member should not be blamed for stalling the review. I cannot have that.'' However, Mr. Pearman quickly returned to his adversarial role.

Holding up the Opposition's platform -- "A Plan For The 90's'' -- he said the PLP's suggestions for improving labour relations were already being carried out by Government.

"My concern is that the loyal Opposition, in setting out its platform as to what it would do as a Government, does not say anything,'' he said.

Mr. Pearman also questioned the Opposition's position on the granting of status, saying it was conflicting.

Meanwhile, he said, Government was reviewing its moratorium on Bermuda status and was expected to bring its plan forward in the House shortly.

Overall, Mr. Pearman said, he believed Government's Immigration system was "working well''.

"I can say that because during the height of the recession, we saw a reduction in work permits from the 10,000 area to about 5,000,'' he said, "and when we went out to measure the number of unemployed Bermudians, we found the workforce did not diminish to the standard that work permits had declined because Bermudians took those jobs.'' "We are living in an overemployed society,'' Mr. Pearman added. "But that served as a cushion during the height of the recession.'' Shadow Labour and Immigration Minister Mr. Alex Scott said he agreed that the Ministry had "a very difficult task in front of it'' and that there should be a balance between the Ministry's responsibility to Bermudians and to the business community.

However, he said, the Opposition was not satisfied with Government's protection of Bermudians in the workplace.

"I believe Government has gone a long way in providing protection to corporate Bermuda, but I believe it has a long way to go in providing equal protection to Bermudians,'' Mr. Scott said.

And he said although Government had won the election, it did not "necessarily win the hearts of Bermudians''.

"The operation was a success,'' he said. "The UBP won, but the patient died.'' Referring to some of the questions Government had recently asked public opinion polls -- such as "What could the UBP do to show it is a party of change?'' and "Is the country in good shape?'' -- Mr. Scott said: "This lack of confidence in self is reflected in their approach to the problems.'' "Our task is to be prepared to not only be the Government in waiting, but to be individuals who can drive these policies through Government by all the zeal and power we can muster, because the Government of the day is having great difficulty putting through programmes that, at the end of the day, have to make one wonder if they believe in them, much less, if they can carry them through.'' Mr. Scott said the Opposition was happy to see that Government was adopting some of its ideas.

But, he said, it would also like to see Government heed further suggestions, such as setting up employment offices in areas like Warwick which need them most.

With this arrangement, he added, the staff would be required "to take an active role instead of waiting for the unemployed to come to them''.

Such an arrangement could also be another way of stimulating the economy by creating more jobs, Mr. Scott said.

Mr. Scott said the Throne Speech lacked specifics in addressing "the real problems that are out there''.

"The voter expects not pie in the sky ideas, they expect real actions from this House,'' he said. "And it is our responsibility to use all of the political acumen we have to see that these things take place.'' Referring to the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board legislation, Mr. Scott said the Opposition had great reservation from the beginning about the notion that goodwill in the workplace could be legislated.

He said the Labour Advisory Council should be "empowered, promoted, and supported'' in every way.

Responding to Mr. Pearman's comments on race relations, Mr. Scott said while some had made progress, the Opposition would not be satisfied until a system was brought into place which brought "fair play for all Bermudians''.

Concerning the Ministry's plan to develop a more cooperative plan with businesses, he said: "I worry about the plan because there are already reports reaching us that the Ministry has a close relationship with the business community. Some Bermudians feel it is too close. And it has not worked up to this point in the interest of Bermudians.

"Also we wonder what numbers are we talking about in the programme.

"We believe just a practical application of fair play in the workplace -- Bermudians first -- will solve all the problems that the Minister feels he has.

"If we have the will of the Government on the side of Bermudians, the goodwill of these businesses will follow.'' Mr. Scott denied that the Opposition's view on the granting of status was conflicting. He said while the PLP wanted to see a moratorium on the granting of Bermudian status maintained, it would consider "on a case-by-case basis'' providing security of tenure to long-term residents.

Minister of Legislative and Delegated Affairs the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto lashed out at Mr. Scott for suggesting that there was a great amount of unemployment in Warwick.

"If he and his colleagues had not put up such a resistance to the building of the Ritz Carlton, there would have been more people employed in Warwick,'' she said.

Turning to the Throne Speech, she stressed that her Ministry's first priority was to review Police resources and ensure that they were equipped in the war against drugs "and the crime which it spurs''.

Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said her Ministry was also committed to the renewal of parish constables, increasing Police presence "on the beat'', and creating an independent investigation and adjudication board.

She stressed that Government also would push for tougher measures for delinquent dads to reduce arrears in child support payments.

This could be done by: Placing delinquent fathers on a stop list that prohibits them from travelling until the arrears are paid; Suspending fathers' driving licences until the arrears are paid; Seizing delinquent fathers' cars, selling them, and using the money to pay off the arrears; or Imposing a prison sentence, if all else fails.

Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said Government was also determined to make sure tougher sentences were imposed on those convicted of crimes against women and children and she said she would also like to have the term "domestic violence'' removed.

"One that commits this against his wife receives a slap on the wrist. But if he did that to somebody of his own size in an alley, he would probably get a year in prison.

"We have got to set a society in which this violence is socially unacceptable to the public, Police, and the judiciary.'' Tougher sentences will also be imposed on convicted drug traffickers, she said, adding that this could include seizing assets linked to drug trafficking.

While noting the importance of such social problems to Bermuda, Mrs.

Cartwright DeCouto said the Opposition's reply to the Throne Speech was silent on such matters.

"All I can assume is that these are items that hold not a shadow of interest to those members on the Opposition bench,'' she said. "And to that I say shame, shame, shame.'' As former Minister of Environment, Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said she had been anxious to hear the Shadow Environment Minister's maiden speech.

"His level of interest and enthusiasm is exceptionally high,'' she said, noting that Mr. Woolridge spoke for more than two hours.

"But,'' she added, "it was clear that the honourable member has got to be learned up.'' Quoting from the Bible, Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto said her first piece of advice to Mr. Woolridge would be "understandest thou what thou readest''.

"The honourable member had us in 12-mile exclusive fishing waters and 200-mile exclusive fishing zones and at the end I came to the conclusion that he was totally out to sea,'' she jibed.

Mrs. DeCouto said she wanted to stop "scaremongering'' over the Wilkinson Trust Quarry expansion.

A blasting expert had been brought in by the applicant, and blasting would be done in such a way that it would not harm the nearby caves system, she said.

The extended quarry would not be visible from any public road, she added. The existing quarry was already visible from the Causeway, but the expanded area would not be.

The Opposition made "the outrageous allegation'' that the Government had no plans for the marine environment, she said. "Nothing could be further from the truth.'' Government had recently outlawed the catching of parrot fish and continued to monitor the sea and air quality. "Government will continue to be vigilant,'' she said.

Mrs. DeCouto noted that the PLP had promised to set up a Ministry of International Business if elected, because of "all the hassles'' business got from Government.

But quoting from a post-election article in the magazine The Bottom Line, Mrs.

DeCouto noted international business officials were quoted as saying they wanted "more of the same'' from Government.

She also accused the PLP of having "a secret agenda'' to introduce income tax.

She then moved that the debate be adjourned. Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade said he hoped the House would be given four to five extra days to debate the Budget, since it involved the spending of tax dollars, and "I would expect Government to treat it in a more important manner than they are treating this debate.

"The Government is itself filibustering on its own Throne Speech to hide the lack of a legislative programme for this House,'' Mr. Wade said. The House could finish the Throne Speech debate that night and get on with three motions put forward by the PLP.

But Government did not want the PLP motions debated until after Christmas, because "they are in fact ashamed of their positions on these matters.'' Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan said the public had to be made aware of the commitments made by Government, as well as the platform put forward by the PLP.

In the recent election, "the public gave us an opportunity to set an agenda for this House,'' Sir John said.

Government wanted to give everyone a chance to speak. If Mr. Wade wanted to discuss limiting the length of members' speeches, "I'm quite happy to meet and discuss'' the matter, he said.

The debate had started at 11 a.m. and it was now after 9 p.m. "If we do it too long, it's going to produce hostility,'' Sir John said. He encouraged Mr.

Wade to meet with the rules committee "to discuss what might be achieved if we decide to set a programme for how debate might take place.'' Keeping the public informed was as important as getting on with the legislative agenda, he said.

Speaker the Hon. Ernest DeCouto then called the question. After a voice vote was inconclusive, the motion to adjourn the debate carried by a 21-16 vote, with United Bermuda Party MPs voting aye and Progressive Labour Party MPs voting nay.

THE HON. H. IRVING PEARMAN -- Ministry has worked towards `tighter links between the granting of work permits and training Bermudians.' MR. ALEX SCOTT -- Government won the election but not `necessarily the hearts of Bermudians.'