In the fourth instalment of The Royal Gazette 's series focussing on tourism, BIU chief Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP says that hotel owners and managers should try and increase the morale of workers. "The worker must feel good to come to work each day,'' he says adding that "management has to lighten up its grip of profit maximisation and focus on humanising the industry through proper supervision.'' Bermuda's larger hotels should stop moaning about the costs of doing business in the Island and work to improve worker morale which is not as high as it should be.

In order to reverse this trend, management must change their impersonal style and revert to the more personalised practices of past years.

"Years ago our guests were the central part of our industry,'' Bermuda Industrial Union president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP said.

"Now, due to impersonal management, their relationship with staff has dwindled and this spills over into the relationship between staff and their guests.

"Our workers need to be given time to talk to our guests about the weather, the history of Bermuda and the culture of our Country.

"As it now stands many just serve the guests, pass the cheque and move on to the next.

"Management talk about training for our workers. We have the best hotel school in the world right here in Bermuda and it has not produced one top hotel manager or head chef. We are falling far short.'' Unlike many pundits, Mr. Simmons is not convinced that the tourism industry is in a slump.

Point to the declining air arrivals -- 201,406 during the period January 1, 1995 to July 9, 1995, compared to 211,893 one year ago -- and Mr. Simmons is remains unmoved.

"Air arrivals may be down but spending is up,'' he countered. "The object of any business is to make money. Volume and traffic is not that important.

Bermudians have been fooled into thinking our industry is doing badly but we are doing well.'' Similarly, Mr. Simmons said Bermuda had no reason to fear the increased competition from other destinations because that was normal.

He said tourism was an attractive business and it made sense that more countries want a larger part of it.

Instead of complaining about the competition, Mr. Simmons said hotels have to raise their workers' self esteem by complimenting their good work performances and give training in the areas where they have weaknesses.

"The worker must feel good to come to work each day and remain until he (she) has given a good full day's effort.

"We are seeing a lack of employee enthusiasm. Management has to lighten up its grip on profit maximisation and focus on humanising the industry through proper supervision.

"Proper supervision is vital to efficiency and improving production because it raises workers' self esteem and self confidence.'' Worker morale aside, Mr. Simmons said he had witnessed some disturbing trends in the hotel industry when it comes to industrial relations.

He said Government and employers have conspired to prevent the growth and effectiveness of trade unions in Bermuda.

To back up his assertion, Mr. Simmons said that all the multi-employer negotiated agreements were intact up to 1991. However, since 1991 many of these have disintegrated in such areas as construction and trucking.

He said the withdrawal of 12 smaller hotels from the Hotel Employers of Bermuda was another example of this disturbing trend.

These events have fragmented the industrial landscape he continued, and will have the effect of worsening the worker-management relationship.

"What we need in Bermuda is strong and permanent trade unions in the workplace. Workers need to be able to join any strong trade union they choose.

"But employers have engaged in open warfare of aggression against the workers and this must stop.'' Furthermore, Mr. Simmons said that the hotel employer's recurring complaint that Bermuda was an expensive place to do business was simply not true.

He said Bermuda was an exclusive, conservative, player in the resort tourist business with a reputation for being the playground of the rich and famous.

Moreover, Mr. Simmons said that most visitors complained more about the quality of the services then about prices.

And the issue of (alleged) spiralling costs he added had more to do with a lack of efficient and effective management than any other factor.

Mr. Simmons said that management is always complaining about high overheads like electricity, labour and phone bills while at the same time enjoying the best communications system found anywhere.

"We have reliable electric services, literate people and capable, reliable and trainable workers.

"The (foreign owned) larger hotels came here in the first place because of these things.

"And to be honest they are getting more than their money's worth in return.

They have our Ministry of Tourism who work overtime promoting Bermuda as a tourist destination overseas using some $29 million of taxpayers money and another $8 million concession for refurbishing their physical plants.

"Added to that they pay two percent employment tax while everyone else pays five percent and they have (allegedly) taken away gratuities from their own staff.

"When you combine those gratuities, duty free allowances, the hospital levy, and employment tax concessions, they are doing better than the Salvation Army.

"But if you listen to them complain, you would think they are a charity.'' BIU CHIEF -- Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP.