Thread: Common sense prevails in Bermuda

Too bad our law makers have their head in the sand.

March 12, 2007. Government announced that newly-arrived foreign workers will soon have to pass an English test or face being booted out, Labour and Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess has revealed. The test will apply to foreigners from non-English speaking countries. He told the House of Assembly on Friday: "You have heard the Bermudians in the news media, on talk radio and in this very House complaining of their experience, in restaurants in particular, when they have encountered a non-Bermudian waiter who cannot speak enough English to take their order and they end up getting a dish that they did not order. This does not bode well for our tourist industry. "Another downside to the language barrier is that persons cannot assimilate into our society and learn our culture when they cannot speak our language. This then causes conflict between Bermudians and non-Bermudians in the workplace." Mr. Burgess said he understood the challenges employers faced in recruiting from English-speaking countries. But he added: "It is unacceptable to have foreigners serving persons, whether it is in a restaurant, a hotel or a rest home, who cannot communicate effectively in English." And he said it was dangerous in a job where the employee has to also read prescriptions or the labels of dangerous chemicals. "Therefore I will be introducing a policy where work permits for persons from countries where English is not the primary language will only be approved subject to that person demonstrating to the Department of Immigration that he or she has a working knowledge of the English language." Once that person arrives they will be required to attend the Department to take a short test to demonstrate they understand English. "If he or she does not pass the test, the work permit will be withdrawn." The new policy could prove costly for employers who got it wrong, admitted Mr. Burgess. But he added: "I can assure employers we will work with their representative organizations to identify the job categories where speaking English is necessary and arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution. "But, ultimately, the onus is on the employer to ensure the persons they hire and bring to Bermuda can speak English."


http://www.bermuda-online.org/employwp.htm

It was so rewarding to read words of common sense from an elected official, that I had to read it twice! Who cares if the words had to come from Bermuda! At this point, I will take it from anywhere I can get it!

It gives me hope that someday our elected officials will come to their senses. Oh that's right! Silly me! Newly arrived LEGAL immigrants are required to have a basic comprehension of the English language.

It's the illegals who are exempt from this requirement. For them, we bend over backwards to make sure they get everything they need in their native spanish.

Its sad that a country (USA) that once had such great leaders in our government,is now being lead by bought and paid for politicians that care nothing about its own citizens.

Wake up you clowns in DC Burmuda gets it why can't you idiots ?

Originally Posted by NoBueno

It was so rewarding to read words of common sense from an elected official, that I had to read it twice! Who cares if the words had to come from Bermuda! At this point, I will take it from anywhere I can get it!

It gives me hope that someday our elected officials will come to their senses. Oh that's right! Silly me! Newly arrived LEGAL immigrants are required to have a basic comprehension of the English language.

It's the illegals who are exempt from this requirement. For them, we bend over backwards to make sure they get everything they need in their native spanish.

Bermuda also enjoys the 3rd highest standard of living in the world. There is zero unemployment. Crime is very low. There are no guns.
Serious crimes are rare. The government puts its citizens first. Poverty is almost non existent.

if only OUR leaders were as WISE...

GFC wrote:

Bermuda also enjoys the 3rd highest standard of living in the world. There is zero unemployment. Crime is very low. There are no guns.
Serious crimes are rare. The government puts its citizens first. Poverty is almost non existent.

Bermuda is only 20 square miles in size. I spent 12 months there back in the 80's. It's a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there because after one week you've done and seen everything.

[quote="GFC"]Too bad our law makers have their head in the sand.

"Therefore I will be introducing a policy where work permits for persons from countries where English is not the primary language will only be approved subject to that person demonstrating to the Department of Immigration that he or she has a working knowledge of the English language."
*******
Department of Immigration: What? Small Bermuda has a Department of Immigration, but mighty United States of America, with its huge illegal immigration problem, has no cabinet-level Department of Immigration?

As I have said over and over again in earlier messages: We will never
control illegal immigration until we bite the bullet and create a cabinet-level Department of Immigration.

Homeland Security and the terrible floods in the midwest today.

Does anyone really believe that the Secretary of Homeland Security has the time or energy to focus on illegal immigration, or to travel all over the country fighting illegal immigration, when he has to face the
immediate disaster of the terrible floods in the midwest?

My point is this: I don't think that illegal immigration is a top priority of the Secretary of Homeland Secretary when he has to try to solve the immediate problem of floods in the midwest.

.

Bermuda has it right!

I went to a resort on the eastern shore over the weekend and most of the resturant staff were Indian. I could not understand them and they could not understand me. They had to hold up signs and point to pictures of crabs and fish to see what we wanted to order. The service was pathetic and slow.

Originally Posted by butterbean

Bermuda has it right!

I went to a resort on the eastern shore over the weekend and most of the resturant staff were Indian. I could not understand them and they could not understand me. They had to hold up signs and point to pictures of crabs and fish to see what we wanted to order. The service was pathetic and slow.

*******
Just wondering: How do Indians from India get from India to Bermuda?

Next stop for these Indian waiters in Bermuda: Sneak into the United States, which is only a short distance away!
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Its the new "global backpacking". Nobody follows any rules or laws anymore. They just go wherever their backpacks take them.