Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown urged the Bermuda Industrial Union not to support sloppy service among its members if tourism was to prosper.

In a hard-hitting speech to yesterday?s BIU delegates conference he said marching on Government was pointless and divisive. Dr. Brown said changing work meant the tactics and role of the union needed to be updated. Good service from charming staff was the thing that had put Bermuda at the top of tourism years ago.

But he added: ?Our problem is we have become so special that we are doing our tourists a favour just by getting out of bed in the morning.?

The Minister said tourism needed a trade union that would support an industry giving first class service to stay competitive.

Dr. Brown said: ?Service is not servitude. Our service just like our hotel product has become stagnant. It matches the tarnished elements of our hotels.?

But he said hope was on the horizon with top notch brands such as Fours Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Hilton and Regent possibly wanting to manage hotels here ? but they would want staff to go the extra mile.

?Trade unionism in tourism does its members a disservice when it supports unacceptable behaviour. Trade unionism in tourism discourages fair managers when they side with an employee, deserving of disciplinary action, against a manager,? Dr. Brown said.

?Trade unionism in tourism is not a genuine partner when it perpetuates a culture which accepts second best as the norm. In 2006 Bermuda needs a trade union in tourism that comes to the table with more than the traditional demands.?

He urged the union to pass on feedback from visitors so he could act on it.

?Are all managers genuine? No. Are all managers just? No. But sometimes our approach to dealing with these issues has become dated and still resembles 1976 and not the present day.

?You have a labour government now comprised mostly of people who have marched with you and who have raised their political voices on your behalf,? Dr. Brown continued. ?I ask myself every time this scene plays out ? if X manager has done something unjust at X hotel, why are they marching on us here at Cabinet and not at the hotel?

?The media then paint us as fairweather friends and we both look silly. We must progress beyond the march as our first move and meeting at the height of the day as the norm.?

Dr. Brown concluded: ?These things unduly interrupt the day, win you little support and become easy to ignore because they happen the same way with the same non-result every time.?

He said the PLP government was always available as the union?s first port of call.

?We are here as a result of your marches and your protests,? he said. ?Don?t let them now be used to make us out as being no different from the others.

?I make this plea in mid-March because this year?s beach and sizzle season bears great promise and one day of interrupted service will sour thousands of first time visitors? impressions of our island. Let?s work together to keep this kind of thing to a minimum.?

He said successful businesses from the 1990s had involved unions and workers.

?I have made it clear to the management of Bermuda?s largest hotel operator that if they expect us to understand their visions for the future they must tell us their deadline for having a Bermuda general manager.?

And he said the trade union movement was still relevant and he praised members of the hotel division. ?As long as there is work there will be a need for a trade union.?