A Government Senator has revealed that negotiations over future staff contracts are currently being held between the Bermuda Industrial Union and the hotel company expected to take over the old Marriott Castle Harbour site.

Sen. Calvin Smith announced the news during Wednesday's Senate's motion to adjourn, following a call from Opposition Sen. Maxwell Burgess for Government to "come clean'' on exactly what was being done with closed hotel sites around the Island.

Sen. Smith, who is head of the BIU's Credit Union, said: "We have been independently holding negotiations with the prospective owners of the old Marriott site to discuss terms and conditions.'' Later confirming to The Royal Gazette that the prospective company was Regent, he said: "We have just about reached an agreement in terms of what kind of set up will be established there.'' In the Senate, Sen. Smith said: "I think this should bode well for Bermuda.'' He also defended the Tourism Ministry from Sen. Burgess' comments, calling Minister David Allen "the brightest, most energetic (Tourism) Minister Bermuda's ever had'' who was attacking problems "with a real energy''.

Sen. Smith also said he felt that the whole way Bermuda was sold to potential tourists needed to be changed, calling investment "only one aspect'' of what the Tourism Ministry dealt with.

"Who's going to invest in a product that they know is losing money?'' he asked.

"The Ministry of Tourism is making tremendous progress in formulating a plan where people from every aspect of the industry have a say in what happens.'' Claiming that the previous United Bermuda Party Government had taken a "paternal'' approach to dealing with tourism matters, Sen. Smith said: "There are a lot of people with stakes in them and they all must participate.

The PLP is not going to lead forward on its own, but make decisions in a partnership with them.'' Earlier Sen. Burgess had expressed concerns that hotel workers, recently made redundant by closures of the Marriott and Belmont hotels, had not yet been "guaranteed'' a job for "this Christmas or next Christmas either''.

He also referred to the old Club Med site in St. George's, saying the development of it "ain't happened yet''. Describing Government's attitude towards the matters as "trite'', he noted that his concerns were exacerbated by "recent downfalls in air arrivals and night stays'' by tourists.

"A large measure of our people here are employed in those fields and if we see declining figures like this, we expect to have less (employment) at their disposal,'' he said.

Sen. Burgess also pointed out that the person set to fill the shoes of Tourism director Gary Phillips, who is due to stand down early next year, had still not been named by Government.

"It was thought by us that the old director would have been able to give his replacement a bit of help before he stood down,'' he said, "but we still don't even know who it is.'' The issue of tourism was also touched on by Opposition Sen. Kim Swan, who proposed that Government focus on "livening up'' the Island during the period between November and March.

"As opposed to money being spent on ads,'' he said, "we should be concentrating on laying a whole host of activities and special events during that period, to really attract people here.'' In talks: Sen. Calvin Smith