The Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) continued its fight for local steel workers yesterday, but the head of the Canadian company who had four workers pulled from the Bailey?s Bay Government quarry on Friday said that local workers were not properly trained.

?The BIU is not going to sit idly by knowing that we have foreign workers who are being employed in Bermuda and Bermudians are being put out of work or not being allowed to work,? BIU president Chris Furbert said yesterday. ?Naturally enough as an organisation that represents workers, we are concerned about it to the degree that it appears we are only just scratching the surface with what needs to be done.

?We are concerned these sorts of things are happening in 2006. Now slavery was abolished back in 1834, we had a number of things that were supposed to have happened,? he said.

But Mr. Furbert said it was not right for workers to be either blackballed or blacklisted just because they decided to use their constitutional right to inform the union what was taking place in their own country.

?The mere fact that we have had these six to eight workers approach us? and I want to thank them for coming forward and sharing their information with us ? as Bermudians concerned about what is happening within their country, the mere fact they have done this, if they are not already blacklisted, they are going to be put on a blacklist by employers throughout the Island,? he said. ?We want Bermudians to work and we want them to be able to work.

?In addition I think that the Immigration Department has assured us that basically there is an investigation that has already begun into the matter of the two companies who have hired these workers,? he said. However, Dan Scott of Scott Steel, speaking from Burlington, Ontario, agreed that local workers should be used first, but said local steel erectors needed to be trained and checked.

?We are not building toys here. We are erecting steel,? Mr. Scott said yesterday. ?That has a lot of safety implications.

?I want to set up an apprenticeship programme,? he said.

He said Canadian workers were prepared to work ten hour days, seven days a week for $25 Canadian per hour, however, they were paid overtime and bonuses for working double shifts.

But Mr. Scott admitted that he did not charge his workers out at $25 Canadian because the company needed to make a profit.

?For me to work in Bermuda, I need a sponsor. I do not ever get my own permits. It is the responsibility of whomever I am working for,? he said. ?Bermuda is a beautiful place to live and work. My guys look at Bermuda as bonus work. They can work as much as they want. This is not an option here because of the weather.?

It was an advantage for him to use Bermudian workers, Mr. Scott said.

However, Mr. Furbert said Bermudian workers would be unable to go to Canada, or any other country, and take away jobs from their workers.

?But we seem to accept the whole lot and I know that Mr. Scott?s comments should not be taken lightly by the labour department and they should not be taken lightly by the people of this country. Because that shows an insult to us as a people,? Mr. Furbert said. ?That he can say, ?I want to come to your country, forget what the going rate is. I want to pay this and that?s it end of story?. I think that is totally disrespectful to us and we should not accept it.?

He also said Mr. Scott was exploiting his workers by forcing them to work long hours which would effect their performance.

?That?s actually three months work squeezed into six weeks,? he said. ?I am going to challenge the Bermuda public now that if they know of any other people who are here working illegally they should call the Immigration Department.?