Workers in Bermuda's premier industry lag behind other unionised workers in wages and employee benefits, Bermuda Industrial Union general secretary Mrs.

Molly Burgess charged yesterday.

Mrs. Burgess was testifying at the hotel talks before the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board, chaired by Prof. Ronald Haughton, at Cathedral Hall.

Her remarks came as BIU president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons examined overtime, severance pay and some 20 other unresolved issues with the Hotel Employers of Bermuda (HEB).

Hoteliers have said they cannot afford to give workers any pay raise for the first year of their 1991/93 collective bargaining agreement.

They have put a three percent pay raise on the table for the second two years.

The BIU is asking for double that: seven, six and seven percent.

And yesterday Mr. Simmons and Mrs. Burgess made it clear that the union also wants: mandatory gratuity charges distributed in their entirety to staff rather than some being "pocketed'' by hoteliers; compensation based on principles of unemployment compensation for laid off workers earning less than $20,700 in wages and gratuities -- compared to $16,484 with other conditions under the 1988/91 collective agreement; full-time employees to be guaranteed 39 paid weeks during the year, regardless of whether the hotel remains open year round; and two weeks severance pay for workers employed for six months to a year and three weeks basic pay per year for those employed over one year, with tipped employees receiving an additional 32 percent of a maintenance tradesman's pay.

Mrs. Burgess said this would bring hotel workers in line with unionised Government employees.

"At this time hotels severance pay is behind other workers in the country,'' she said. "This is very important, especially with the way redundancies are happening in hotels now.

"For a person working 30 years only making $145 and then only getting about 32 percent of the basic wage with this, they have received nothing for their years of service.'' Mrs. Burgess also stressed that employees working beyond their normal work day should be paid overtime; those working on their day off should be paid time and a half; those working on public holidays should get double time; and employees required to work outside of their regular shift from midnight should get double time.

"It's time that hotel workers got overtime pay and got their wages in line with everyone else,'' she said. "Hotel workers are behind on all of them and this is Bermuda's premier industry.'' The union is also asking that the following, among other things, be granted: comprehensive major medical coverage for employees, something they argued that "is common practice in Bermuda'' and management in hotels have; maternity leave of 10 weeks, instead of the present nine; compassionate leave of three days when a family member is being buried locally and five days when the funeral is overseas; special compassionate leave of five days to be deducted from employee's sick leave entitlement if a child is ill; employer pension contribution be increased to 38 cents, 47 cents, and 57 cents in the first, second, and third year of the awaited 1991/94 agreement, with employee contribution remaining at 15 cents; and a negotiating team of some 20 who are paid "as has always been the practice''.

The union will continue with its position on other unresolved issues when the hearing resumes this morning.