Still reeling from the disappointment of Government's decision to end Pro-Active Management System's contract to build the new senior secondary school, Bermuda Industrial Union president Derrick Burgess said that the Bermuda Industrial Union continued to be a supporter of the ruling party.

"This situation has really got inside my soul," Mr. Burgess said last week.

But healing the wounds inflicted by Government's decision would be "difficult", he added.

Government would do well to make sure that a "totally Bermudian" company and Bermudian workers are used to finish the school, which is in any case in its final stages of construction, Mr. Burgess continued.

"I want to be able to tell my grandchildren that Bermudians finished that school ? they started and finished that school. Bermudians in general but particularly Bermudians of African descent. That would be a way forward to healing the wound and we would be left with a scar ? not a big scar but a visible one."

Mr. Burgess added: "It's about time we started telling our children, yes they can do it too. That was very important to us, to all of the workers out there, to see that blacks can do it too."

But the controversy had threatened to tear at the fabric of black working class families, especially those who were involved in the project.

"When these guys go home and tell their children the Government fired me ? that's one of the worst thing you could do ? tell your family I don't have a job. Especially when they are used to you going out to work. So it's got an impact and I just hope we can get some healing."

He repeated arguments that Pro-Active would have needed more support from Government.

"I don't have the deep pockets to carry out a job like that so I need some assistance. And I might need some technical assistance also. I realise that, but some civil servants didn't realise that and that's why you had the claim of sabotage... It's no secret most blacks don't have those deep pockets because we haven't had economic empowerment before."

And Mr. Burgess questioned why Government had not taken court action for damages against the architectural firm that got the designs wrong causing months of delays and extra costs.

"Particularly when you had 70 percent of the steel having to be redesigned and all the other problems... That's what puzzles me today. They seem to put all the fault on the Bermudian company and the Bermudian company did not draw those plans. I'm puzzled by that."

Mr. Burgess said he had asked that question many times but had received no response.

He said a strain had been put on the relationship between Government and the union. "The workers have been devastated by this. They are shocked, they are angry and they have got a right to be because they were proud of what they were doing and they still want to do it. But they don't know if they are going to be the ones to complete what they started."

But the union leader said that their support for the Progressive Labour Party had not diminished.

"Let me make it quite clear. We are still supporters and we'll continue to be supporters of the party but it's put a strain on it (the relationship)."

He added that the workers feel that there was enough local expertise on the site to be able to finish the work.

"Let's face it ? the thing is 85 percent complete. It's all finishing stuff ? it's not rocket science. All the rocket science has been done by Pro-Active."