Stephen Shawe as hoteliers' representative in hotel talks, lawyer Mr. Julian Hall MP claimed yesterday.

And Mr. Hall, who made the allegation in the House of Assembly, accused Labour and Home Affairs Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman of sidestepping his "duty'' to "at least'' consult the council before granting Mr. Shawe a work permit.

"The Minister is under a statutory duty to at least consult the council when lawyers are coming in to practice,'' he said, adding this should be done whether or not the lawyer is coming to practice in the courtroom or Cathedral Hall -- where the hotel talks are being held.

"There are already lawyers here equipped to carry out Mr. Shawe's job and with a great deal more sensitivity,'' Mr. Hall said. "The Bermuda Bar Council objects to the appointment of Mr. Shawe.

"Mr. Shawe should not be granted a work permit. There's no basis under Immigration's existing policy for granting this to Mr. Shawe.'' Mr. Hall stressed that Mr. Shawe possess no area of specialty that Bermudian lawyers could not handle. "There is no valid reason to justify the appointment of that man,'' he said.

Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP, who heads Bermuda's largest labour union -- the Bermuda Industrial Union -- did not comment on the matter in the House yesterday.

But earlier this week during the hotel talks, Mr. Simmons raised concerns about Mr. Shawe, who was flown into Bermuda from Baltimore to represent the HEB.

And yesterday the general secretary of Bermuda's second largest union, the Bermuda Public Services Association, Mr. Eugene Blakeney MP, said Mr. Shawe's presence is "insulting'' to workers.

He said Bermuda's workers are represented in all their negotiations by Bermudians.

In 30 years negotiating on behalf of workers in Bermuda, Mr. Blakeney said, he knew there were "enough skilled people in the management side'' to do the job.

He said one would have thought that, after all these years, somebody like Bermuda Hotel Association executive Mr. John Harvey could do Mr. Shawe's job.

He suggested that Mr. Shawe's work permit should be cancelled.

Mr. Pearman, however, denied Mr. Shawe is "practising law''.

He said Mr. Shawe is a "consultant negotiator for the Hotel Employers of Bermuda and the HEB correctly applied for a work permit for Mr. Shawe and it was granted''.

Mr. Pearman said once Mr. Shawe leaves, the HEB would have to go through proper Immigration procedures and apply for a work permit again if they want him to represent them in the future.

"He does not have an open ticket in terms of a work permit,'' Mr. Pearman said. "The Ministry has not in any way abandoned its responsibility as it was alleged.'' Mr. Pearman also said: "If the Bar Council is upset, it is odd that they have not communicated that to my knowledge''.

When contacted yesterday, president of the Bar council Mr. John Riihiluoma Jr.

refused to comment on the matter.

But he said: "He (Mr. Hall) is right that in a section of the Immigration Act it says in respect of every work permit application for a professional position, where there is a professional body in Bermuda, that body should be consulted''.