Last week, Bermuda was brought to a near standstill by a strike called by BIU (Bermuda Industrial Union) Leader Chris Furbert . Mr. Furbert called on workers to down tools to protest the denial of Reverend Nicholas Tweed's work permit renewal application. Buses didn't run and imported goods were left on the docks as meetings were called to discuss the government's refusal. Reverend Nicholas Tweed is the pastor for St. Paul's AME Church in the City of Hamilton and has long been a prominent leader of The People's Campaign, essentially the more radical arm of the PLP (Progressive Labour Party). The OBA (One Bermuda Alliance) government has released statements saying that the reason for the denial is due to discrepancies in Rev. Tweed's name and marital status, and the fact that the job was not advertised properly in the newspaper. Mr. Furbert and The People's Campaign have argued that Rev. Tweed is being kicked off the island because of his vocal opposition against the government and its recent policies.

Here's the issue: only a year ago, The People's Campaign and Mr. Furbert were fighting hard against a proposal that the government called 'Pathways to Status', geared towards making it possible for PRCs (those with Permanent Residence Certificates) to apply for Bermudian status. Their problem with the legislation was essentially that giving PRCs the right to vote would mean that foreigners would have too much say in island politics and legislation: “This is what the United Bermuda Party did in the 1970s and 1980s to consolidate their political power: they gave status grants to persons who they knew would be more favourable to vote for them so they could continue to promulgate their power. That’s what happened. This was a naked play to do the exact same thing.” (David Burt, then-Acting Opposition Leader) He also highlighted the difficulty in gaining work in Bermuda as a returning university graduate: "It is a difficult thing to know what it’s like looking for employment inside your own country and you cannot find it, and see persons who are not from your country working." These were the reasons that many protesters gave during the demonstrations against 'Pathways'. The bill was eventually withdrawn.

Moving forward, then, to last week's demonstrations, it seems that Mr. Furbert and the PLP's opposition to expats working in Bermuda long-term is selective: clearly, they see no issue with Rev. Tweed staying and working in Bermuda indefinitely. Indeed, Mr. Furbert seems to consider it a union matter, going so far as to threaten America's Cup, which the island will be hosting in May of this year. This seems to have been a step too far for his supporters however: at last poll, 86% of Bermudians considered his involvement to be overstepping his mandate, saying that this was not a union matter and therefore not his concern. While his threat to derail America's Cup certainly pushed many union members over the edge, a letter sent to Jeff Sousa MP by one of Bermuda's bus drivers was the biggest issue: "Many of us signed on this morning because we had all intentions of working today. Most of us planned to ignore his orders to down tools and keep driving should he make that decision. Unfortunately, union leaders physically prevented any buses that arrived at Central Terminal from leaving, so we drivers could not continue our work. Drivers who reported to work after 8 AM were not allowed to sign on, so they couldn’t work at all." This is not only unethical, it is illegal, and a gross misapplication of power. The mood of the country seems to be that Mr. Furbert is attempting to use his leadership of the unions to further his own political agenda, using unionised workers to push the message put forward by the PLP.

The People's Campaign and the PLP attempted to frame their opposition to Rev. Tweed's deportation as an argument for freedom of religion: Jason Hayward, BPSU (Bermuda Public Services Union) Leader suggested that as the AME Bishop had re-appointed Rev. Tweed as the pastor for St. Paul's AME Church, the government had no real right to interfere. It was implied during the interview that, at least previously, there was understanding between the government of Bermuda and the church: "It's not about a Bermudian being displaced when it comes to the church. The church has its doctrine in reference to how the bishop makes appointments. That has been historical for years. If you look at the St. Paul's AME and the pastors it has had, the majority of its pastors have been non-Bermudian. So I don't think it's really a matter of concern whether we are prohibiting a Bermudian from obtaining the job or not...I can't comment on the relationship between the government and the church, but from past practice we can see that non-Bermudian pastors have been able to come in on appointment by the Bishop without this level of...I think there should have been some consideration given to the churches, to how their doctrine and the [government] policy can be in alignment."

If that is the case, how to explain what happened in 2003, when the PLP not only blocked the appointment of Reverend Brian Porter as minister to St. Paul's Church in Paget (not the same church as the one discussed above), but threatened another expat minister with arrest when he tried to assist the then pastor-less church by performing the early morning service. Canon Alan Tilson's work permit was specifically for the Holy Trinity Church and he was therefore not allowed to preach at any other church as that was considered another position. The Anglican Bishop of Bermuda at the time, Ewan Ratteray, had appointed Rev. Porter to the position and then asked Canon Tilson to fill in at the 8 AM service when Rev. Porter's work permit was blocked. It is all very well for Mr. Hayward to talk about aligning government policy with church doctrine and respecting bishops' decisions with regards to their appointments, but those statements run completely contrary to the PLP's stated position in 2003, with then-Minister of Immigration Terry Lister quoted as saying "The Anglican Church will have to appoint Bermudian Carl Williams whether it likes it or not."

This hypocrisy has been noticed by the greater Bermudian public, with a mere 12% in favour of Rev. Tweed staying on the island, and only 7% in favour of Mr. Furbert's threat to America's Cup. Hopefully Mr. Furbert and the other political leaders on his side of the argument realize that such action would not be an effective course to follow, and would indeed cause greater problems for Bermuda. Not only would we lose the revenue that we could gain from the competition, we would also have to pay a sizeable fine if we were unable to fulfil our contractual obligations as the host country. There is no iteration of such a situation that turns out well for Bermuda.

The Bermuda Government has held firm on their denial of Reverend Tweed's work permit, and he is due to leave the island tomorrow.