and Customs this month, has found itself the centre of its own hiring dispute.

Hotel and union sources told The Royal Gazette that the BIU executive council and the general council had clashed over the decision to hire dock worker Mr.

Chris Furbert as the new full-time divisional organiser and negotiator.

Sources said the Hotel Division preferred Mr. Derrick Burgess over Mr. Furbert because of his extensive experience in contentious hotel contract negotiations. The BIU general council was understood to be in favour of Mr.

Burgess, but lost out to the executive council.

"There was a power struggle,'' one source said, adding hotel workers were unhappy Mr. Burgess did not get the job.

Mr. Burgess, said to be disappointed he lost out, did not want to comment on the situation.

"I prefer not to say anything at this time,'' he said.

BIU president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP, who sits on both councils, refused to comment on Mr. Furbert's hiring, referring The Royal Gazette to the union's paper, Workers Voice, which announced the decision in Friday's edition.

"Print what you get, you've done it before,'' Mr. Simmons said.

Mr. Burgess, a long-time hotel worker, is the president of the Hotel Division, while Mr. Furbert, a stevedore, headed the Portworkers Division.

It is understood hoteliers are also dissatisfied with the choice of Mr.

Furbert, who has never worked in the hotels, as the new chief negotiator. They view him as "a radical,'' sources said.

Mr. Furbert replaces long-time organiser Mr. Alfred (Manuel) Bean, who decided to retire early at the end of the month.

The Workers Voice said he had put in his notice to Stevedoring Services and is expected to begin work at the BIU in February.

It is understood the salary is in the $50,000 range.

The BIU advertised for the position last October, calling for a "long-term, dedicated financial member who is committed to upholding the union's constitution and general policies'' and preferably possesses "a broad understanding of industrial relations.'' Long hours were also required, the ad said.

It is understood there were several applicants.

The BIU last week threw its support behind a petition calling on the Governor and Government to rescind the hiring of a Englishman as the new Police Commissioner. Mr. Simmons called on all members to sign a petition opposing the hiring.

The BIU also threw its support behind its sister union the Bermuda Public Services Association in opposing the hiring of a non-Bermudian wife of a Bermudian as one of six new Customs officer trainees.