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<h1 class="gmail-post-title gmail-single"><a href="http://bernews.com/2018/10/english-speaking-policy-under-consideration/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to English Speaking Policy Under Consideration">English Speaking Policy Under Consideration</a></h1><div class="gmail-meta gmail-single"><span class="gmail-meta-date"> October 3, 2018 </span><span class="gmail-meta-comments"> | <a href="http://bernews.com/2018/10/english-speaking-policy-under-consideration/#comments" rel="bookmark" title="Comments for English Speaking Policy Under Consideration">53 Comments</a> </span></div><p>[Updated
with video + remarks] An English Speaking Work Permit Policy is under
consideration, and the Minister is expected to hold a press conference
to provide details later today [Oct 3], the Ministry has confirmed.</p><p>What
appears to be a draft document of the potential policy states, “While
it is appreciated that employers in a number of industries are finding
it more and more difficult to recruit from English-speaking countries,
it is unacceptable to have foreign nationals serving persons, whether it
is in a restaurant, a hotel or a rest home, who cannot communicate
effectively in English. It is dangerous in a job where one has to also
read prescriptions or the labels of dangerous chemicals.”</p><p><a rel="slb_group[800759] slb slb_internal" href="http://cloudfront.bernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/work-permit-Policy-Bermuda-generic-RHKsQkP5.jpg"><img class="gmail-alignnone gmail-size-full gmail-wp-image-800807" alt="Immigration Law on notepaper and the US flag" src="http://cloudfront.bernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/work-permit-Policy-Bermuda-generic-RHKsQkP5.jpg" width="600" height="400"></a></p><p>The
job categories apparently being considered are those in industries
“where the job holder interacts with the public or in jobs where lives
could be threatened if the person cannot speak or read English,” the
document states, adding those could include Restaurant/Food Service and
Hotel Worker; Health Professionals and Caregivers in Nursing Jobs.</p><p>The
document — which has not officially been confirmed but is understood to
have been circulated to some stakeholders for consultation — states
that workers from countries where English is not the first language may
have to provide evidence they have “successfully passed an English as a
Second Language programme.”</p><p>“The employer is required to show
evidence that the applicant has successfully passed an English as Second
Language programme by submitting the document with the work permit
application,” it states.</p><p>“The policy cannot be proactively policed
by the Department of Immigration without incurring great expense in
time, money and manpower,” the document states, so they “will either
react to complaints” from the public or if “public officers witness this
deficiency themselves.”</p><p>The document further notes that if the
language test results indicate that the person is deficient in their
ability to speak English, “the employer and employee will be advised
that the Minister is considering revoking the work permit; both parties
will be given 14 days to provide a written response as to why the
Minister should not revoke the work permit.”</p><p>The phrasing of the consultation document is similar to a policy announced <a href="http://bernews.com/2010/03/guest-workers-to-speak-english-or-be-returned/">back in 2010.</a></p><p>The
Minister is expected to hold a press conference on this matter at
around noon, and barring any issues or changes, we will update this
article with the live video, which we will also carry live on Bernews
Facebook page.</p><p><strong>Update: The live broadcast has concluded and the 14-minute replay is below</strong></p><p><strong>Update 1.44pm:</strong>
Speaking at today’s press conference on this matter, Minister of Home
Affairs Walton Brown said, “The English Speaking Work Permit Policy,
currently out for consultation, seeks to ensure that foreign nationals
hired by employers to work in serving positions – whether it’s in a
restaurant, a hotel or a rest home – can communicate effectively in
English.</p><p>“Also, it is dangerous, for example, to have a
non-English speaker employed in a job where one has to read
prescriptions or the labels of dangerous chemicals.</p><p>“It is for
those reasons that the Department of Immigration is seeking to put into
effect the English Speaking Work Permit Policy.</p><p>“The job
categories that are being targeted by the new policy are those in
industries where the job holder interacts with the public or in jobs
where lives could be threatened if the person cannot speak or read
English, namely:</p><ul><li>[a] Restaurant/Food Service and Hotel
Workers: such as cleaner/houseman; room attendant; pot washer;
cook/chef; waiter; food and beverage server; maitre’d; kitchen porter;
counter person; counter chef;</li></ul><ul><li>[b] Health Professionals,
including but not exclusive of: physician; pharmacist; nurse; nursing
aide; physiotherapist; occupational therapist; radiological technician;
social worker; and</li></ul><ul><li>[c] Caregivers in Nursing Jobs:
nursemaid/nanny/child caregiver; caregivers of geriatric employers and
patients in nursing homes.</li></ul><p>“For workers from countries where
English is not the first language, a condition would be placed on the
work permit under this new Policy stating: ‘Applicant must provide
evidence he or she has successfully passed an ‘English as a Second
Language’ programme.’</p><p>“The employer would be required to show
evidence that the applicant has successfully passed an ‘English as
Second Language’ programme by submitting the document with the work
permit application.</p><p>“Under this Policy, the Department of
Immigration would investigate complaints from members of the general
public that work permit holders cannot speak or understand English. In
circumstances where the individual is already working in Bermuda and
where a complaint is lodged against him/her, he/she will be brought into
the Department of Immigration and given an English language test.</p><p>“If
the test results indicate that the person is deficient in their
understanding of and/or ability to speak English [i.e. they fail the
test], the employer and employee will be advised that the Minister is
considering revoking the work permit; both parties will be given 14 days
to provide a written response as to why the Minister should not revoke
the work permit.</p><p>“If the language test results indicate that the
person is proficient in their understanding of and/or ability to speak
English [i.e. they pass the test], they will be allowed to continue to
reside and work in Bermuda for the duration of their work permit. In
this case, the Department of Immigration reserves the right to recall
the work permit holder for re-testing at any time.</p><p>“As mentioned
earlier, the English Speaking Work Permit Policy is in circulation to
key stakeholders for consultative purposes; the deadline for feedback is
October 12, 2018. Depending on the extent of the feedback, I expect
that this Policy will be implemented by October 19, 2018.”</p><p>The
Minister also announced that in order to “provide greater assurance”
that Bermudian tennis professionals are given fair employment
opportunities, the Department of Immigration has introduced a new
process of referring related work permit applications to the Bermuda
Lawn Tennis Association. Details of that policy <a href="http://bernews.com/2018/10/tennis-work-permit-application-process-change/">can be found here.</a></p>
<br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>