agreement existed between the hotel and the Bermuda Industrial Union in 1992, the hotel's lawyer said yesterday.

Mr. Alan Dunch said a recent Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board decision related to Grotto Bay Hotel was "decisive'' on two of the three points the same board will be asked to rule on at a hearing scheduled for April 20.

And it was "absolute rubbish'' for Labour Minister the Hon. John Irving Pearman to say two board decisions could be independent of one another, Mr.

Dunch told The Royal Gazette .

"Mr. Pearman would do well to study up on the law of estoppel by record, where it is clear that a board such as this, which is quasi-judicial in nature, has no right to re-open and rehash an issue which it has already made a final decision on,'' Mr. Dunch said.

At the April hearing, the board will be asked to decide whether a collective agreement was in force between Pink Beach and the BIU when the union asked the hotel to follow the grievance procedure in a dispute over worker Mr. Perry Goater. Secondly, if the board finds there was an agreement in place, it is to decide whether the hotel committed an unfair labour practice.

Thirdly, the board is to rule on Mr. Goater's firing by the hotel. However, Mr. Dunch said the first two questions before the board were "absolutely identical'' to the first two referrals in the Grotto Bay dispute.

The board found that no collective agreement was in place at Grotto Bay, and therefore no unfair labour practice was committed. The board also found that no agreement was in place between the BIU and any Bermuda hotel after February 24, 1991.

Mr. Dunch said Pink Beach did not mind going before the board on the question of Mr. Goater's firing, but "if I have my way, Pink Beach won't get anywhere near the board'' on the first two issues.

He would not say how he would attempt to block the hearing. "You'll find out when the Minister finds out,'' he said.

Mr. Dunch said he agreed the Labour Relations Amendment Act of 1991 should be scrapped, as Mr. Pearman has said he is considering. It should be replaced with "a proper unified code of industrial relations that covers the whole industrial relationship from start to finish,'' similar to the Ontario Labour Relations Act in Canada, said Mr. Dunch.

Mr. Pearman more recently referred a second matter to the disputes board affecting Pink Beach, after he received a petition signed by 55 workers requesting BIU representation.

Mr. Dunch said Pink Beach was considering its options on that referral, but the hotel will "avoid if at all possible any hearing'' before the board.

The issue in the second referral boils down to "whether or not as a matter of Bermuda law there is any legal obligation imposed upon an employer to recognise a union,'' Mr. Dunch said. "The short answer to that question, in the absence of a collective agreement, is no.'' Meanwhile, Mr. Pearman shrugged off criticism from Pink Beach manager Mr. W.A.

(Toppy) Cowen, saying the law guides him on when he should refer a dispute to a Government board.

Mr. Cowen described Mr. Pearman as "impulsive,'' and said he was treating the referrals "as an attempt to discredit our reputation for having harmony in the workplace''.

Mr. Pearman said the grievance came not from the BIU, but from workers at Pink Beach. And he defended his decision to have the disputes board rule on the matter.

The hearing will be chaired by Prof. Ronald Haughton, Mr. Pearman said. Mr.

Michael Mello QC, who chaired the hearing into the Grotto Bay dispute, has since resigned, citing his workload.

Mr. Pearman recently indicated the Grotto Bay decision would have no impact on the Pink Beach dispute.

"There seems to be a perception that this (board) is a court of law in which precedent-setting decisions are made that can be tied to other disputes,'' he said. "But circumstances can be different from one situation to the next with no bearing on things whatsoever.'' Mr. Dunch described that as "absolute rubbish.'' And he said the resignation of Mr. Mello would also have no bearing. "The board is the board is the board,'' he said.

Mr. Cowen said that of the 55 names he received from the Minister, "12 no longer work at the hotel, one name is down twice, and the person who caused the `supposed dispute' has now been given a woman's name.