Commissiong: Jobs, Race & Wage Disparities
In the employment market there are two Bermudas – one white, one black – and becoming more unequal, Shadow Minister of Workforce Development Rolfe Commissiong said today [Apr 11].
Mr Commissiong said the PLP recommends measures including “legislative options including affirmative action style programmes be examined and where necessary be enacted to ensure equal opportunity and racial equity.”
He also recommended that immigration policies, particularly with respect to the work permit regime, be toughened and enforcement measures strengthened to address the marginalization of black and Bermudian workers.
“Finally, government alone cannot empower the black community. We must encourage a cultural renaissance, which promotes entrepreneurship and self-determination within our community and in the generations that follow,” said Mr Commissiong.
“While not everyone can be a business owner, we must begin to examine ways that we can successfully create businesses for ourselves, employ ourselves, and employ others. We must envision a Bermuda where determined black Bermudians face no obstacles to employment, self determination or empowerment.”
Mr Commissiong’s full statement follows below:
The 2012 Employment Survey while revealing the loss of 2000 jobs from our economy also highlights significant levels of inequity in pay based on race and national origin. The Survey shows that foreign workers earn on average, 40% more than Bermudians.
It further shows that despite the end of overt racial discrimination in employment and economic opportunity, whites workers today on average earn 50% more than black workers.
The divide which was fairly high at 40 percent in 2007, has actually grown over the last few years to the point that white employees earn on average $2 for every $1 earned by black employees. Clearly at least with respect to the employment market, there are two Bermudas; One white, one black and becoming more unequal.
The PLP stands ready to join with the OBA to begin the hard work of turning around these unacceptable trends because we believe that neither Bermuda’s economic, nor social cohesion can be maintained without eliminating this disparity.
The PLP recommends:
• Continuing to strengthen public education with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math. All paired with a rigorous technical education program that meets and anticipates the growing demand for workers with skilled technological knowledge.
• Promoting the adoption of critical thinking skills amongst our students. Finland is widely acknowledged and admired in having one of the most successful school systems. Its students who are immersed in critical thinking from a young age leave high school and college and are fully ready to enter one of the most innovative economies in the world. They have even coined a phrase for it, “innovation ready.”
• Continuing to develop and hone our workforce development system(s) which ideally, should work seamlessly with our education system(s). This will allow us to develop a more people centered model of development and better align our education and training to the global economy
Education and workforce development is only part of it. Studies have continually shown that blacks and whites with the same qualifications will experience disparate outcomes in the workplace with respect to employment, promotion, salary and benefits.
We propose:
• Policy and legislative options including affirmative action style programmes be examined and where necessary be enacted to ensure equal opportunity and racial equity.
• Immigration policies, particularly with respect to the work permit regime be toughened and enforcement measures strengthened to address the marginalization of black and Bermudian workers.
• The Minister of Home Affairs call a tripartite meeting to include trade union representatives and business leaders to address the issues that have been highlighted above.
Finally, government alone cannot empower the black community. We must encourage a cultural renaissance, which promotes entrepreneurship and self-determination within our community and in the generations that follow.
While not everyone can be a business owner, we must begin to examine ways that we can successfully create businesses for ourselves, employ ourselves, and employ others. We must envision a Bermuda where determined black Bermudians face no obstacles to employment, self determination or empowerment.
-
Hi…Im a Philipino/Bermudian…What do you suggest for us?
You don’t count.
But if I was black/white I would? How is this not racism? I love this country but I HATE the racism.
Actually, he’s not interested in white Bermudians either, and he doesn’t even consider them “real Bermudians.”
If you are Filipino/Bermudian than on your Bermudian side you must be one of the two other races you mentioned unless you have status through marriage. Beside since when does a Filipino worker get laid off or not hired in Bermuda? You have no idea what being the subject of racism in Bermuda is. Your ancestors never had to sleep in a barn or sit in a segregated area in Bermuda so get over it. Learn Bermudian history before you start making nonsense comments like that.
No longer about Race… It’s education and presentation that matters these days. Ask any black person in a high paying job how they got it. Oh and don’t forget to take notes.
Watch and wake up!
Black Woman Pretends to Be White, Job Offers Skyrocket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ApV0hszT-yo
2013 not 1960
DON’T FORGET TO TAKE NOTES! Why would I need to take notes? Are you prejudging me?
Your education & presentation theory is only a sometimes thing. Then there are those other times when it’s not that but instead friends & family. That’s why so many Bermuda businesses fail because they hire someone who is dumb as rocks on the assumption that because they are so & so’s bye or girl & so in so is a business success so are they. Then there are those that hire those who are gifted in the art of BS & just because the employer is daft they buy the BS. In other jurisdictions your word is not good enough & paper & references that are checked are held over words but not here. The old boys club is a big thing here & one thing I will agree with you on now its not about race because the old boys allow us folks into their circle now IF we are a friend of a friend.
You Mr. Tommy Chong, sir are an idiot. You never had 6 million of your people killed in gas ovens. You never had to flee from country to county in order to live. If you think blacks were the only subjects ever treated in a brutal fashion, you might benefit from actually reading a history book or two.
You call me an idiot when you can’t even comprehend a simple sentence like, “You have no idea what being the subject of racism in Bermuda is.” Key part was, “racism in Bermuda” not Europe & it was directed to another comment so you need to follow the thread. Well, pot hello I’m Mr. Kettle & it’s not nice to call me black despite what others with African descent want to be called.
As for your argument if you had read some of my past post you would see that I have sided with your ancestor’s plight. I have argued with others on the holocaust being just as bad or worse than African slavery. If you want for argument sake I could always flip it & bring up how Africans subject to slavery for 400 years much much longer than the holocaust. During that long period of time Africans were piled on top of each other in the bottom of a ship on a long journey across the Atlantic. Those who appeared weak along that journey were tied to a weight & thrown overboard & left to drown. Those that made it to America were molested & treated less than animals. Any who showed the least bit of rebellion were fitted with torture devices around their heads & sometimes even castrated. I could also mention how Jewish settlers also took part in the slave trade. I’m sure many of these slaves wished to have been gassed to end the hell they were in daily. Lets not even go into having to flee from there country as African slaves didn’t have the choice as they were stolen & brought to a land were people even after slavery fashioned a future where it made it hard for them to rise above remember Europe isn’t the place where they had what they call ghettos. The difference between the European ghettos compared to the American ones is the European ones no longer exist. This has all lead me to digress since this was not where I wanted to go but you pushed me there.
As primarily stated my mention of racial mistreatment was centered around what’s happened in Bermuda as a response to another comment. Even after slavery was abolished by England the founding families of Bermuda were still in support of it. Bermuda played a key role as a supplier of weapons to the confederates during the the civil war. The founders or Forty Thieves as they were dubbed hoped that the slave drivers would beat the north & they would continued to profit from the souths white gold. This was all done behind the back of the queen & this undermining perspective continued until the 1970s till it most boiled over but their is still to this day some left in the pot as old habits die hard. There’s a bit of history that you probably never read.
Was that comment really necessary…Every sole in the world counts,do you have saw dust in your head that was low!!!
Soul
Sorry typo big enough to admit to my mistakes unlike you who “you dont count” comment really hurts and I dont even know either of you.
Kathy don’t waste the keyboard on Sandgrownan. It’s a proven fact this person hates his/her self.
Wasn’t really “having a go” at ..says, but rather pointing out that Rolfe isn’t about equality, he’s about getting even. He doesn’t care if you’re white, yellow, from Mars…that’s really all I was saying.
fa·ce·tious
/fəˈsēSHəs/
Adjective
Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant.
Go back home
“Finally, government alone cannot empower the black community.”
Unless you do what the PLP/BIU did to the Cement company.
STEP 1:
“Its landlord, a government quango, had ordered it to relocate 300 yards to make way for housing or shut down.”
This essentially forced them to shut the doors (see below)
“The company said the $15m relocation costs weren’t commercially viable and that it would reluctantly close when its lease ends at the end of December.”
“He (Mr. Butterfield) effectively accused the Government of pushing the company into a corner so it could be bought out at a discount price.”
STEP 2:
“The Government of Bermuda, through our lawyer, has made a purchase offer to the Bermuda Cement Company which the owners have said is available for sale. Our offer is commensurate with what the owners have said the company’s equipment and supplies are worth.”
STEP 3:
“Mr. Butterfield fears his company will lose the lease on the 22,000 square foot property as Government is ignoring his calls.”
STEP 4:
Peace out White boy!
References:
http://www.aggregateresearch.com/articles/3881/CemexBermuda-Cement-Company-resigned-to-losing-lease.aspx
To be replaced with another white boy…
yup…talk about a plan backfiring
But that nasty little land-grab was only about the $, which knows no colour. Only the deluded followers truly believed it was about affirmative action or race at all.
Don’t agree. There was a certain PLP person who was both racist (he said he was aggrieved and needed to get even)and greedy – as in grab the $.
Nope, the plan worked perfectly
And I’m a Portuguese Bermudian, what would you propose for us ??
U Portuguese made out good under plp no?Ask Gilbert Lopes
So one man of Portuguese decent who profited means all Portuguese shared in his success?
One Portuguese person “made out good under the plp” so you think all Portuguese did? Let’s apply your logic to blacks then. Ewart Brown made out good, so I guess all blacks did too.
Remember, years ago the Portuguese sat at the back of the bus with the blacks.
YUP! Sad thing is many Portuguese just as many African descendants sold out their own under plp. The thing is you are wrong about the one Portuguese person bit. A lot of other Portuguese got hook ups under plp in agreement that they would vote plp. It was never about the colour of skin with plp it was about the colour of money but they felt they had to & still do lie to us about that.
Jews were discriminated against here as well.
At the risk of offending people who look and think like Mr. Commissiong, to quote one of your more infamous politicians, race has nothing to do with the wage disparity. The larger paid employee is the one who can actually spell his name, doesn’t suck his teeth when asked to actually do something while they’re on the phone to their Ace Girl, isn’t crouched on the starting blocks at exactly 5:00 pm, and isn’t only there because employers have to have a Bermudian “quota” on staff to be allowed to operate. Fixing these little problems would go a long way toward leveling the playing field for Bermudians.
I agree with much of what you said but but let us acknowledge that this isn’t just a Bermudian problem. It is a world-wide problem and we are not exempt.
2nd- History has proven that education, although necessary, is sometimes not enough to get someone to the top. Especially if you are black. If you look at the make up of almost any Fortune 500 – 1000 Company in Bermuda (or elsewhere for that matter), you will note that most (if not all) of the executives are white males. That is an undeniable fact. So either;
1. white men are just that much smarter than everyone else or
2. Something is wrong.
Watch and wake up!
Black Woman Pretends to Be White, Job Offers Skyrocket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ApV0hszT-yo
2013 not 1960
“skyrocket”? Did you actually watch it? This proves nothing. A few selective numbers, with no detail. Meaningless.
How many seperate prospective employers called and emailed each applicant? We don’t know. We’re given a few selective extracts. But no details. How odd, given the point he’s trying to make.
He claims the ‘white’ applicant was offered ‘numerous jobs’ . Really? Without interview, just on a Monster resume, ‘numerous’ jobs were offered? How many? From how many employers? He doesn’t say. How odd, given the point he is trying to make.
And consider the source. Hardly an impartial observer. He’s a journalist looking to make a story, and trying to make a name for himself.
Mad dawg, did you watch it, it says that for months the lady did not get contacted once, but within a week as a white woman, she had been contacted 9 times. I would say her calls skyrocketed.
The white woman got contacted 9 times by the same person calling more than once. Not 9 seperate jobs.
The white woman had a cell phone. The black woman used a home phone, and we are not told whether or not the home phone was manned full-time, or whether calls could be missed. On the cell, no calls were missed.
They both received emails. They both received interest about the two jobs mentioned by the presenter, in another state. The white woman received more emails, but we don’t know whether they were about the same jobs, or other ones.
You don’t have to be genius to see through it.
“she got more calls and emails” doesn’t actually mean sh!t.
I love the line that reads “continuing to improve the education system”
Probably the most relevant thing to economic empowerment of anyone of any race is education and access to it. But the PLP did not improve the education system, our GCSE results are worse than the worst school in Britain. There is is no continuing, but a massive improvement is needed.
And who is Rolfe and what business/economic/social or educational qualifications does he have for that matter to commentate and recommend. Not one good leg to stand on.
People need education, jobs and healthy family environments when growing up. If you better those three things then you will see opportunity for all Bermudians, but you cannot bully employers in the current environment. They simply will make excuses not to employ, it is a grassroots issue that has to be solved from the bottom up.
amen. fix the education system. and fix the family.
I have to agree with much of what you said. We need to create healthy family environments. We need to employ good family morals, many of which too many people do not want to do. What ever happened to actually being faithful to your marriage partner? What about getting married, saving some cash, and then having a limited number of children that you can afford to take care of, ie all the way through university. Unfortunately we have several generations of people who were not raised in a healthy environment and really don’t even know what it is. This is one of Bermuda’s main problems. Although racial barriers did wreak havoc on various segments of the community throughout our history, today, this isn’t the primary factor… unhealthy home environments are destroying our island. So here is my advice to young single Bermudian females (and the principles apply to males too):
1. If you are dating a thug… dump him immediately. He doesn’t love you, he can’t take care of you, and the only thing he can do is impregnate you with another thug.
2.If you are sexually active, take immediate steps to ensure you do not have an unplanned pregnancy. Talk to your doctor about options and identify what is best for you.
3. Take action to protect yourself from STD’s… ie condoms. If he doesn’t want to use a condom, then he doesn’t want to lay down with you.
4. Get an education. Even if you do not have the money, where there is a will there is a way! Take full advantage of the hundreds of scholarships that are offered each year. Apply for financial aid, do extra work… whatever it takes to ensure you get a valid degree.
5. Research your prospective field before undertaking a degree. Find out information about Bermuda’s future job trends and get skilled in these areas. This is vitally important as it makes no sense getting a degree in which you will not find work.
6. Finish university with high grades!
7. Get involved in extra curricular activities. Duke of Edinburgh, Rotary exchange, etc…
8. Upon completion of your degree, seek to work abroad before returning to Bermuda to gain valuable international work experience.
9. Do not have any children yet…
10. Accept an entry level job even with its low pay… more work experience.
11. Work hard, have good work ethic, do not abuse sick days. come early, stay late. Be dedicated.
12. Save some money.
13. If you choose marriage, great… stay in a loving, committed relationship.
14. Set up savings plans for your unborn children’s education.
15. Finally after all this, only have a limited number of children that you can afford.
16. Raise your children right. Instil values in them. Value your children’s education.
With these, and other practical steps, in my humble opinion,the earnings disparities can be corrected, our education system will get better, and our plague of social ills will be reduced.
Excellent advice! Black folks cannot let their past hold their future hostage. Just sayin’….
As long as Mr. Commissiong and others continue to perpetuate division, this country will not succeed… the evidence is all around us. Without the division, there would be no need for those persons working so hard to keep it alive… so I can understand the motivation.
Rolfe at it again! He does leave out some convienient statistics that make his numbers look worse.
The whites vs blacks income argument
The majority population in the US, UK and Canada is white. We are importing highly skilled labor for high paying positions in the reinsurance and financial industries from these contries.
What happens if you add the racial make up of these countries to Bermuda’s income distribution?
Skewed statistics on income!
Example
I have 10 Bermudians each earning $100. 6 are black, 4 are white.
Current average earnings for each group –
Black $600 total income / 6 people = $100 each
White $400 total income / 4 people = $100 each
Now I add another 5 people from the US. 4 are white and 1 is black*
*(Racial demographics of the US is 72.4% white and 12.6% black so 4:1 is reasonable)
These people are highly skilled and highly paid. They each earn $200
Current average earnings for each group –
Black $800 total income / 7 people = $114 each
White $1200 total income / 8 people = $150 each
Rolfe takes this and says Blacks earn less then Whites!!
Can somebody give us some numbers on inequality that detail only Bermudians? Or at least break out the data by Expat and Bermudian?
Just curious
Excellent point.
And you know the facts because!!!!!
These aren’t facts, just an example
Those are not Rolfe’s statistics. Those are the (OBA) Government statistics. You should take your concern to the Cabinet Office, I think the Premier is in charge of the Statistics Department.
It’s Rolfe attempting to interpret the statistics and draw conclusions though, isn’t it. And those conclusions and inferences are what Curious is challenging.
A proper trained journalist would see the difference, LaVerne.
Who knows what LaV sees? She probably doesn’t know herself!
Actually LaVerne I have a big problem with the statistics that come from the Cabinet Office!
I dont understand how as a modern country we do national statistics every 10 years and dont produce monthly figures on economic activity and unemployment.
Bill Gates has made a comment that you need accurate statistics in fight against Malaria so that you can make credible future targets credible and get everybody working towards those targets.
The same goes for a country, Paula Cox and Bob Richards both give/gave wishy washy ideas of where they wanted the economy to go, but how are they believable if there isnt a hard target.
“The current economic rate is -3% and I intend to pull it up to 1% using x,y,z” is much better and more credible then “Using x,y,z (which I have no idea of their effectiveness) I want to kickstart the economy and get Bermuda growing again”
What is the difference in wages when you strip away the foreigners from the equation as they tend to be paid higher than all Betmudians?
But fixing the education system is key as well as reverting to the old community values Bermudians used to uphold.
How is it possible in the Bermuda of today for one black employee with the identical qualifications , work ethic, seniority and attitude WORKING FOR THE SAME COMPANY to make less than a white employee ?
With all the mandatory government employment surveys that have to be completed regularly it just isn’t possible. Government would be on top of it like no tomorrow.
All the rest is just comparing apples with oranges.
Yes, some companies WILL pay less than others that perform similar duties but that is a different issue alltogether.
All of my black friends , who haven’t lost their job like I have, are doing very well for themselves.
Furthermore if we take ALL of the foreign workers out of the equation that skew the figures ,those that are earning more than 200,000 per year, you’d see a lot more parity in the wages than one would imagine.
In the end it would more than likely come down to an issue of how blacks handle their money compared to whites .
So stop stirring the pot Rolfe (and others)
Watch and wake up!
Black Woman Pretends to Be White, Job Offers Skyrocket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ApV0hszT-yo
2013 not 1960
Yes Plato we know….. Give it a rest already
I would guess that the numbers are somewhat skewed when it comes to foreign workers in IB….most are white and most earn considerable sums due to their expertise.. It is unfortunate but having them here enables more Bermudians to earn a living as proven by the numbers who have left….so far this week we have heard from Wayne and Zane and Rolf and Marc and none of them did anything to remedy the disparity and ,if anything, made it wider…anyone left to comment ? How about Derrick complaining about Heritage Wharf ?
Navin……old bag…….do you understand what cultural and economic empowerment without the help or dependence on government is? I like what Rolfe is saying. He didnt compile or release the statistics, which are facts, so why are some of you accusing him of “stirring the pot” . Has the Oba spoke to these newly released govt stats? Why not?
But I see a change in tone and direction from Rolfe, as he clearly states that the solution lies within the ability of ALL black Bermudians to empower themselves and not blame others. This means becoming more business minded and responsible for ones choices, efforts, and destiny. What is wrong with that? What’s the alternative? Be comfortable with a low quality of life and blame others, or set out a strategy to take from the wealthy, in particular white people? Neither option is acceptable for social harmony in this country.
I credit Rolfe and the PLP for expanding on the issue and not talking the same talk as yesterday, which created division without creating a solution. Where is the Premier and the Oba on this major issue that effects all of us?
Rolf has been meeting with business leaders quietly but all has been done before by his predecessor”s. feel free to enjoy him Concerned Citizen but this old bag , whatever that means would give him the time of day….
Make that would not give him the time of day
It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to our political parties , but Saturday April ,6,2013 I was home and their was a knock at the door,when I opened the door it was Mr Commissiong even after the election he still makes time to come by he DIDN’T come with no promises just wanted to see how his people were making out . Unlike the OBA I don’t even know who the other MP is you see I live Middle Town it was so nice to see you Sir. Thank you …… SEE you all can say what you like about the PLP they have been good to us so called back of town people Middle Town has become a great place to live … BERMUDA WAKE UP OBA HAS GONE AGAINST MOST OF THEIR PROMISES ALREADY (Old boy’s again ) I pray YOUR time is short so PLP CAN COME FINNISH THE GREAT WORK THEY STARTED…
In 15 years I have never ever had a visit from a PLP candidate. I can’t imagine why.
Depending on where in Middle Town you live, Andrew Simons was your OBA candidate and I know for a fact that he visited each of his constituents at least once, and most of them twice. The ones he didn’t see, either weren’t at home or wouldn’t answer the door. I know this because I was one of those helping him canvass. Ask some of your neighbors. They’ll tell you he was out there.
“….responsible for ones choices, efforts, and destiny.”
You should be concerned! Drop that handle and call yourself “the dreamer” instead, buddy.
Blah Blah the reality below
Black Woman Pretends to Be White, Job Offers Skyrocket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ApV0hszT-yo
2013 not 1960
Stop repeating the same post over and over and over. We understand that you want everyone to watch your stupid video. Idiot.
Those are not Rolfe’s statistics. Those are the (OBA) Government statistics. You should take your concern to the Cabinet Office, I think the Premier is in charge of the Statistics Department.
You’re repeating yourself LaVerne. A proper trained journalist wouldn’t waste time doing that.
Mad dawg it mus be nice to sit behind your silly pen name and hurl a raft of rude, disrespectful, and personal comments at anyone you feell like. You must be one of those persons who likes to give trash but can’t take it. Really how can anybody take you seriously with you hiding behind some cartoon name.
….does this make you Johnny Barnes – I love you, darling!
Is Johnny your full name then?
Typical Hypocrite.
Jow can anyone take you seriously hiding bhind half a name?
The foreign workers who get paid high then Bermudians are in high level jobs, of course they’ll make more than a Bermudian administrative assistant. The foreign workers scrubbing toilets can sometimes get half of what Bermudians make scrubbing toilets, but no one sees a problem with that.
Commissiong…shut 2 $&$@ up. No one wants to hear what you are spewing.
I JUS WANT A JOB SO I CAN EAT PAY MY BILLS TAKE CARE OF MY KIDS BEFORE I ROB EVERYBODY
Big Conversation – Part 3
Where are the tickets being sold? I looked on BermudaTix.bm and they dont have any, do part proceeds go to the PLP, BIU or to Campaign Commissiong 2017 Reelction?
MP Roolfe please address the problems in your constituency
(1) Gang Violence
(2) Education (or lack thereof)
(3) Teen Pregnancy
(4) Absentee Fathers
(5) Ex-con Rehabilitation
Most Black Bermudians are doing just fine Roolf, please focus on fixing real problems that are in your face every day.
While I do not agree with Mr. Commissiong’s approach to “race relations” (especially his “anti-views” on interracial marriage)I agree on his assertion of the need to integrate a wider varierty of curriculum/courses in the school system.
In some islands, down south, they have included (re)insurance accounting into their high school syllabus as a means to ensure that their students get a head start within their respective and specialized economies. Also, the reinstitution of the recently closed Stonington hospitality school and long closed technical institute would also go along way IMO.
PS: Mr. Commissiong based on the report, which you have cited, the $2 to $1 analogy is wrong. The stats within the document indicates that for every $1 a black bermudian makes whites (not just Bermudians as they seem to be lumped all into one category) make approximately $1.50 or so. Either way it needs to be resolved and not exaggerated for political purposes.
Jason,
I think what you are pointing to is that medians have not been taken into account – a few high (in this case white IB company heads)earners can skew the averages dramatically.
Also, and I’m not being facetiously, there is a large grey economy in Bermuda: many tradesmen likely do not report or even bank cash payments, there is a thriving drugs trade from wholesale through to retail, and of course the whiff of high level political corruption suggests much unrecorded earnings…
I believe economists refer to what you are talking about as a “black economy.”
In economics, a “grey economy” refers to parallel markets whereby legitimate goods and services reach the consumer via unofficial (though legal) channels – an example of this would be say purchasing a container of Heineken Six Packs from a distributor in another country with excess inventory for resale in your shop here, rather than from the official local agent, Burroughs Lightbourne. Needless to say, the owners of BL would not be very happy about such a turn of events, but nonethless your trade in these grey market beers would be perfectly legal.
Nonetheless, good point!
@can’t fool me – I am a life coach with HR experience and I would be willing to work with you for free to consider what the challenges are. I don’t know if this is acceptable but perhaps you can leave your contact information with Bernews and I can get it from them to contact you.
Anyone who completes high school, gets a job on leaving school and stays employed for the first five years, stays out of prison, and refrains from having children until being married, will do well in life.
You can still go to prison and come out later and be the Minister of Tourist. My boy doing time right @ West Gate. In 4 years he’ll be out running as a MP for the OBA. He heard the OBA needs more blacks to front for the next election. Is it true as long as you do what the MAN says you’ll get the hook up?
It’s true that if you do the things Zombie says anyone would do well in life. If you act the fool, you have yourself to blame, whatever race you are.
These salary surveys do not have enough information to draw conclusions meaningful conclusions on whether there is institutional racial bias in salary.
A crucial analysis is missing. That being race-education versus salary. In the knowledge economy of international business I’d like to think that education dominates (at least at the entry level) well in excess of race. If this Black, White, Other salary exercise must be undertaken I’d like to see a comparison with race as column headers (Black, White, Portuguese, Asian, and so on) and levels of education as row headers (High School, Certificate, Associates, Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate). Then in each cell the median (or average) salary. This would give some information on the race-education effect on salary, High School – Black, High School – White, and so on.
However, keep in mind that not all educational achievements are equal since some schools are deemed of higher quality through university rankings (for example: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/ ). This is why choosing what university you go to is as (if not more) important than what you choose to study. Find out what the requirements are for highly ranked schools, meet them, and apply to those. Preferably UK schools as you can get British citizen tuition rates which are generally much less expensive than their US or Canada equivalents in ranking ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2012/may/21/university-league-table-2013 ).
All that to say that it we need to look at race & education versus salary. Also, that not all education qualifications are equal so you need to consider university ranking when selecting a school.
Ride
While I agree with MP Commissiong, I am left wondering what happened to the 14 years the PLP were in power to implement any or all of your proposal, of course as you said we can’t sit down and depend on the Gov’t to do it all for us, however the message rings hollow when we had more than enough time to effect positive and concrete changes so the future will be a better one for our children.
What happened to plp was they got in & then started getting that big money minister pay & that’s all she wrote. Unless the plan was to milk Bermuda right from the start but that would just be eviler than the devil.
As a hard working Bermudian what are you going to do for me? Oh, nothing. I do it myself. I worked hard in primary school, I worked hard in high school, I worked hard in college, and now I work hard in my job. Stop asking what people are going to do for you, do it for yourself.
Maybe Rolfe should have still been in prison for his gun related crime years ago, so that he could try to teach the criminals nowadays to not be as stupid as he was back then( or maybe still is by the sound of his rants)
I just knew that sooner or later he would open his mouth and the real Rolfe would come out – a bit like armed robbery of a bank – he just can’t control himself.
It would be hilarious except that I can literally see much needed investment cringing at the thought that this hater might one day be a Government minister… Not to mention those who are so sick, tired and frustrated by pseudo-intellectual, self-serving, lefty grad school poseur crap like this that we are about a nano-second away from throwing in the towel and extending our energies in some place where morons like this are consigned to the BS towers where they belong. Idiot (and Jerk), come to town one day and meet a payroll.
A Tale of Two Browns:
One came to Bermuda flat broke, had to borrow money to pay his leca light bill. 14 years later, houses all over the shop, handmade suits, big cars, etc.
The other went to school, studied hard, was prudent with his money and investments, owns many large Bermuda businesses.
Both are black.
So what are their first names?
Why do you waste time and ink on someone who only sees things in black and white
?
The second “Brown” had to use “Mr White” as his Nominee for his operations for many many years to ensure that you all patronised his establishments, now that he has money, investments and Bermuda businesses and is reputable as a “Brown”man who wasnt “Bad” or “Angry” or affiliated with the “PLP” he is allowed to get rid of nominees and take credit for his hard work.
Those who know understand
Nominee
Who is the first Brown? Most of the Browns I know went to school and studied hard and are success stories today. Ask Walton to show you a picture of his mother’s wall.
Oppressed, you need to do some more research into the “Browns of Bermuda”.
verrryyyyy racist how you refer to people of black decent as browns…. you should get out of the racism and be more open to all decants furbert….
Is that a racist comment LaVerne? Do all people with the surname Brown look the same in your mind? That’s a sweeping generalisation. Only a racist would assume something like that.
After 14 years of the PLP, Rolfe is asking the OBA to do what the PLP failed to do? This is laughable, if not so tragic.
By the way, “Sven and Jonny” and employment equality are 2 more pie in the sky ideas floated by the PLP (for their local voter base) that had IB very concerned and thinking about whether to stay in Bermuda. It is highly unlikely the OBA will push Rolfe’s idea, except for education and what he didn’t say, family responsibility.
And just in case you all missed it, Rolfe is using statistics provided by the (OBA) Government.
Wrong. The 2012 Survey was undertaken and completed under a PLP Government, but released under an OBA Government.
Basic fact.
LaVerne, Rolfe is interpreting the statistics, and it’s the conclusions he draws that are wrong.
Bank robbery has no race disparities
Neither does the Drug Minister aka X prisoner. We have Rolfe and you have Crockwell.
the only difference is one is full of hate, take your quess who, i am certain you can’t go wrong.
Wow, so many haters!
So much to hate I guess, who said you reap what you sow
This is very important data, that needs to review with the future in mind in terms of how can we move Bermuda forward. There is no need to call folks names or attempt to degrade persons for bring forward extremely important information. We should examine the data and put forward ideas that would help to change things around.
Why take the childish and unprofessional approach of name calling, using words to demean individuals, or just because a particular persons is presenting the information be so distasteful towards them. This is of no help to any one, and does not make any kind of sense. At least attempt to have an intelligent dialogue on the issue. This backward approach to debate the issue, gets us no where and makes some individuals look very silly.
Thanks Mr. Commissong for bring such valuable information forward. It is interesting data, that provides some insight into Bermuda’s employment status and trends. This is useful for planning ahead for Bermuda.
Rolfe is anything but fair and inclusive. Appeasing drivel such as yours only serves to legitimise his sectarian agenda.
@ can’t fool me,
I d like know we’re you are!
Yes we all agree working hard does not mean coming into work 20 minutes late chatting with your mates on the phone ,then spending the day on Bernews or Facebook with a step out to seahorses on the way to your liquid lunch .
It is an interesting interpretation of the report, I suspect it his own usual single visioned world that has led him to this. I also suspect he is trying to deflect from the elephant in the report and that his party oversaw the decline of 2000 jobs in a single year, the PLP knows perfectly well this is a result of the fact that entire approach since the global recession hit has been to wait it out. This represents the result of one of their worst failures, the failure to even react to what was happening to our economy, to try and innovate and maintain an attraction for business to remain here.
Going back to the read on race in the report, is can find no data that correlates apples to apples, is a white actuary making 50% more than a black actuary with the same experience and education? Also, Rolf does not show himself well when his mathematics calculate a 50% increase as being $2 to $1, that is actually a 100% increase.
The solution to this issue isn’t going to be affirmative action or any other legislation, but a strong and healthy family support and structure encouraging education building a base for the future. If we start now, we won’t see the change for another decade or so, but if we can improve the education result of our children, we will not only see the disparity disappear, but we will also see our community become safer and healthier. The simple fact is that it is easier for a company to hire bermudian than foreigner, but we need to provide the qualified workforce to fill those jobs
The PLP including Mr. Commiissiong as a major policy maker annihilated the black (and white) middle class. We need to undo the thinking and consequences behind his proposals. The OBA is providing a better understanding of what actually will benefit blacks and minorities and whites. Fingers crossed!
It is a sad day when we listen to a hateful person. I supported the party through two elections, but hate woke me up. Please PLP stop the hate!! Everything is hate, that is why you will not get the support you need, because people have felt it and have seen what hate and greed that you displayed has done to Bermuda. We are in the worst state I have seen us in all my 68 years. If we haven’t made it, is because of the person you see in the mirror. I have worked hard, three jobs and now I can take it easy. When I was working, lots of others laughed and teased, now they say I’m lucky. No as a hard work, any Bermudian can make it, but many of us love to complain and talk instead of secreficing. Every other nationality comes here and makes it on half the wages we make, with a lot more obsticles then we have, with a lot less support then we have and make it. Stop hating and start working. Run more of your brains, hands and feet and less of your mouth. Sorry I can not support hate anymore, as I said earlier, you can only blame the person in the mirror for what he has made of his or her life, no one else. Trust me, if you can’t make it in Bermuda as a Bermudian, you would not make it anywhere else.
Commissiong continues to play the failed race card which no one is interested in except his close misguided followers.
Interesting article…It’s important for this data to come to light. Well done Mr. Commissiong.
But no surprise for those who are truly informed on the matter. I’ve been saying it all along…
Affirmative action boys and girls
Moral of the story work hard and be successful !
Working hard is something many Bermudian scuff at. They have jobs but work and producing is a different story! Look at how the grass on the road sides look. Years ago it was a quarter of the staff (Portuguese) having to also do the hedges. Now it is 75% more staff with sit down mowers and not having to do hedges, and the roads look a disgrace. In any other country they would be fired. Not here, they have week supervisors which should be the first to be let go, and strong unions that support laziness. Bermuda is definately another world, I mean becoming third world.
Hey Bermuda… I have an idea. Paint us all purple, so we can all get along.
Then you’ll have hard working purple people who make sacrifices to get what they want in life, and you’ll have lazy purple people who blame everyone else for their laziness and incompetence.
@Crazy Lady – that’s a good idea but we still wouldn’t get along… such is the competitive nature of mankind.