with Premier Pamela Gordon over its new service station and convenience store.

Most of what the BIU published in The Workers Voice now appears not to contain a shred of truth. That, of course, has opened up the whole issue of this labour union gas station which was built with non-union labour.

At the time of the alleged incident Premier Gordon was, of course, the Minister of the Environment and had a duty to be concerned about the safety of buildings. Remember that there was a question of electrical safety and, subsequent to the Minister's site visit, a senior fire inspector did confirm that electrical cables and poles would have to be moved. In other words, there was a problem. If there had been a problem at anyone else's building that might have endangered their members the BIU would have been demanding the Minister's attention.

The Workers Voice is the house organ of the BIU and it is apparently going to try to give the new Premier a difficult time especially as the daughter of union leader Dr. Edgar F. Gordon. Premier Gordon's extraordinary success is a red flag to the BIU and that may be unfortunate because as Dr. Gordon's daughter she undoubtedly has more sympathy for the BIU that any previous United Bermuda Party leader. We think the BIU would have been sensible to encourage her support rather than trying to discredit her.

Instead of encouragement, much of the April 4, 1997, issue of The Workers Voice is anti-Pamela Gordon, the lead story, two letters to the Editor and two columns. Political comment and columns are fair game and politicians must expect it but even The Workers Voice has a duty to give someone under attack in a news story a right of reply and they did not do that in the lead story.

Then The Workers Voice accuses this newspaper of being anti-PLP because in our comment they are seen as soft on crime and drugs.

There is not much consistency in the BIU. It was not long ago that officers of the BIU were, rightly we think, speaking in defence of small businesses and "mom and pop shops'' when Sunday supermarket trading was an issue. Now the BIU gas station is about to be a major convenience store. We find it hard to believe that anything is more damaging to mom and pop shops than gas station stores with long trading hours. The store will probably be very good for the BIU but certainly not for small businesses in the north of Hamilton area.

Such is capitalism. A gas station with a permit can use the backing of an international oil company to make its owners more money from convenience shopping while mom and pop have to struggle along by themselves.