Tributes have been paid to Lionel Pearman the longest serving member of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) and the editor of the Worker's Voice, the bi-monthly newspaper, who was laid to rest this month.

Mr. Pearman died April 8 and the service was held at Christ Church in Middle Road Devonshire.

He joined the Union in 1973 as editor of the Worker's Voice and successfully guided it from a position of being the Union newsletter to the status of being the Union newspaper, sold at many outlets throughout the Island.

In the development of the Worker's Voice, Mr. Pearman was helped by the late Doreen Lightbourne and recently retired research officer, Dr. Barbara Ball.

Although he lost both of these valuable assistants, Mr Pearman continued alone to produce newspaper and steadily upgraded its content. Recently, Laverne Furbert, administrative assistant to the Union President and General Secretary, has helped him.

Mr. Pearman encouraged several members and non-members to improve their writing skills through contributions to the Worker's Voice. Most notable were Alvin Williams and Larry Burchall. Mr Burchall is a columnist for the Bermuda Sun and Mr Williams, a columnist for the Mid Ocean News.

A glowing tribute was made on behalf of Mr. Pearman in an article titled 'The Story of Labour Day' written by Mr.Williams and Laleath Bailey.

The tribute said: "From 1982 onwards, the Worker's Voice was covering and promoting the Labour Day celebrations and almost without exception, it published the speeches that were made by the keynote speakers for the BIUs annual banquet and Labour Day. The newsletter covered activities such as the march and the rally at Bernard Park."

According to the tribute, the statement underlined the major contribution of Mr. Pearman in recording the tremendous contribution of Bermuda's Labour Movement generally and the BIU in particular that were largely ignored by Bermuda's very conservative print media.

Mr Pearman was also a major contributor to the development of the BIU Members Credit Union Co-op Society.

He was also the president and guided its fortunes from financial crises to a prominent place in the services that the BIU provide for its membership.

As the informant for the progression of the Progressive Labour Party from opposition to government, Mr. Pearman proved instrumental in printing articles, creating posters and getting the message of the party's updates to more that 6,000 members and supporters.

His efforts did not go unrecognized by the party. Former Premier, Dame Jennifer Smith, recommended him for a Queen's Medal, an award that he treasured as an important recognition of his contribution to the PLP.