VZCZCXRO8359
RR RUEHHT
DE RUEHHT #0030/01 0501936
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191936Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL HAMILTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4017
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0966
RUEHHT/AMCONSUL HAMILTON 2195

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HAMILTON 000030 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
EUR/WE (R. MARBURG AND D. PARADISE); 
EUR/PPD (L. MCMANIS AND A. PIPKIN); 
LONDON FOR R. HUBER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PHUM PGOV BD
SUBJECT: BERMUDA: MIGRANT WORKER ABUSE NOW ON THE RADAR SCREEN 
 
Summary 
 
¶1.      (SBU)  Bermuda is one of the most affluent countries in 
the world, but migrant workers at the lower end of the economy 
in the construction, hospitality and domestic service industries 
are vulnerable to workplace abuse.  An estimated two-three dozen 
guest workers complained about labor abuse to the Government of 
Bermuda (GOB), unions or aid organizations in 2009.  The GOB and 
NGO sources fear that many more are afraid to protest abusive 
conditions for fear of being deported and losing what to them is 
a comparatively good income.  End summary. 
 
 
 
Migrant Labor Abuse Exists in Wealthy Bermuda 
 
¶2.      (SBU)  Expatriates hold about one-third of all jobs in 
Bermuda.  While many work in the very lucrative international 
business sector where pay is high ($94,373 median income), other 
non-Bermudians - mostly from under-developed countries - work at 
the low end of the pay scale in the tourism, construction and 
domestic service industries (about $35,500 median income). 
Minister of Labor and Home Affairs Lt. Col. David Burch publicly 
acknowledged in February that a very small percentage of guest 
workers are vulnerable to abuse at the hands of their employers. 
 The Department of Labor and Training estimated that it received 
four-five abuse complaints in 2009, primarily about excessive 
hours or low wages (Bermuda has no minimum wage). 
 
 
 
¶3.      (SBU)  Immigrants are employed in Bermuda under a strict 
system of government work permits obtained by employers on 
behalf of their foreign employees, usually for a term not to 
exceed six years.  The GOB and NGOs acknowledge that there is no 
accurate way to judge the extent of migrant labor abuse, because 
victims rarely lodge a formal complaint out of fear of 
deportation or loss of income.  However, if a victim does file a 
complaint, the Department of Immigration is authorized to revoke 
all of an abusive employer's work permits and/or prevent him 
from obtaining permits in the future.  Chief Immigration Officer 
Rozy Azhar explained to Consulate staff that revoking work 
permits is not a decision that the Department takes lightly, and 
it has only done so once in recent memory.  She said that more 
often the Department puts a hold on a company's work permits; 
"Regarding abusive employers, perhaps once in two months, we 
will put an employer's (work permit) applications on hold while 
the Department of Labor investigates the complaint.  Normally 
that is enough of a threat for employers to improve their 
treatment of employees.  The challenge to all of this is that 
persons have to complain so that we can identify it as a trend 
in that company. Most do not."  In cases of permit revocation, 
the Immigration Department is authorized to afford the guest 
worker relief by issuing a new work permit to seek alternate 
employment.  Stories that the Immigration Department will deport 
the victim are untrue, according to Azhar. 
 
 
 
¶4.      (SBU) In 2009 approximately two dozen migrant workers, 
mostly from Asia, contacted an NGO about abusive conditions, 
either the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU), the Physical Abuse 
Center (PAC), the Women's Resource Center (WRC), and the 
Salvation Army.   The PAC told Consulate staff that live-in 
nannies, many of whom are from the Philippines, are particularly 
at risk.  According to the BIU, a few employers require guest 
workers to live in illegally-crowded dwellings, while in other 
cases guest workers choose to live that way to reduce living 
costs.  All the NGOs mentioned that the abuse is often in the 
form of long hours, lower wages for the same work, or denied 
benefits.   They also stated that in a very few cases, employers 
reportedly confiscate victims' passports.  The PAC noted that 
some employers have been known to threaten complaining migrant 
workers with having to repay the entire cost, or the return 
portion, of their airline tickets, which may be beyond their 
means. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
¶5.      (SBU)  Although migrant labor abuse is not a major issue 
in Bermuda, it does exist, and the GOB and NGOs fear it could be 
larger issue than many people realize.  The good news is that 
the government and NGOs are aware of the problem, and the BIU is 
offering union protection to migrant workers - a first for the 
labor organization.  Bermuda's labor movement has traditionally 
 
HAMILTON 00000030  002 OF 002 
 
 
been anti-foreigner, but those tensions seem to be in abeyance 
somewhat now that the membership sees the value of incorporating 
guest workers into a system where union wage guidelines apply to 
all workers, both Bermudians and non-Bermudians - thereby 
reducing the likelihood of wage competition. 
SHELTON