during a strike, managing director Mr. John Jefferis said yesterday.

His statement came after workers failed to withdraw their services in the still-simmering dispute.

Mr. Jefferis said all 33 people who telephoned him by early afternoon yesterday were employed. They were willing to work during a strike this weekend because they were concerned about the welfare and comfort of visitors to the Island, Mr. Jefferis said.

"I've taken their numbers, and if we feel it is necessary, we will call them,'' he told The Royal Gazette . "Frankly, I expect there will be no strike action this weekend.'' The Paget hotel has broken ties with the Bermuda Industrial Union and imposed a new deal which includes wage increases, improved benefits, profit sharing, and a management-worker committee to handle grievances.

In response, the BIU in March threatened to stage a three-day strike once the hotel's occupancy reached 70 percent.

Elbow Beach management said that mark was surpassed during the first weekend in April, but BIU president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP disagreed.

Yesterday, Mr. Simmons agreed with Mr. Jefferis that Elbow Beach was more than 70 percent full. But he would not say when the strike would be held.

Timing of the strike by hotel workers is "flexible and discretionary,'' he said. The decision "could be made at a moment's notice''.

Told of the calls to Elbow Beach, Mr. Simmons said: "We call those people scabs.

"We're not going to permit anybody to come in there and do the work while we're out on the picket line.'' Mr. Jefferis said Mr. Simmons was using "protection racket tactics'' and said the hotel was exploring "legal avenues that we could pursue'' in light of the strike threat.