barriers are broken down.

A union leader delivered the grim warning in the wake of the hotel strike.

Mr. Derrick Burgess also sought to shoot down claims embattled Bermuda Industrial Union top brass were a spent force.

He admitted, however, the union had faced a torrid last few years as it became embroiled in a string of disputes.

"We are healthy, though. Everybody goes through changes.'' In a wide-ranging interview Mr. Burgess, vice-president of the union's hotel division, added: Bermuda should follow Canada's lead in introducing legislation to protect workers who strike; Government's labour legislation had stacked the decks against the BIU; Education, more than legislation, was needed to build trust and a sense of responsibility between workers and management; The Department of Social Services should do its share in giving workers cash help; and The union had little confidence in the courts, and still believed it faced an oppressive white establishment.

Mr. Burgess spoke as the union pondered its options after the aborted two-day strike.

One source with close union ties -- who wished to stay anonymous -- told The Royal Gazette BIU president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons, MP, was on the skids.

And he called on Mr. Simmons to resign following the recent Island-wide strike -- judged by the Supreme Court to be illegal.

"Only 15 percent of hotel workers supported the strike. There is no doubt Mr.

Simmons is on the way out.'' The man said workers knew they would lose far more than they would gain by striking over unpaid 1992 gratuity increases.

"That is why they didn't strike, even though they knew the employers had their money.'' But Mr. Burgess cast doubt on the 15 percent statistic.

"I don't think that figure is right at all,'' he said, while declining to comment on the strike and its implications.

He pointed out Mr. Simmons had declared a BIU appeal against the Supreme Court ruling on the strike was under "active consideration''.

Last Saturday's decision by Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Meerabux marked another setback for a union whose future has become the subject of frequent speculation.

Repeated financial accounts have painted a picture of an organisation with little ready cash -- and investments tied up in real estate.

There have been claims the union cannot afford to pay benefits.

And according to one source a woman member who couldn't work after losing a leg was paid just $300.

The rapid decline in BIU membership over the years -- dropping from 6,000-odd in the 1980s to little over 4,000 -- has also started tongues wagging.

So too moves by some hotels to break away from the union.

An underlying cause of last week's strike was the refusal by smaller hotels to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the BIU.

Palm Reef, Mermaid Beech, and Pink Beach also decided to go it alone without a union.

Mr. Burgess said Government legislation -- such as that which gave birth to the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board -- had proved ineffective in combating disputes.

It also left the union fighting on an "uneven playing field''.

Mr. Burgess recalled the dispute at Grotto Bay after the hotel sought a divorce from the BIU and scrapped mandatory gratuities.

It was ruled employees could not picket the hotel because they were engaging in an "unfair labour practice''.

"We were told once a dispute is reported to the Government Minister for referral to the board we had to stop our action,'' said Mr. Burgess.

"But there was nothing to stop Grotto Bay no longer charging mandatory gratuities.'' Mr. Burgess added: "Things can improve with industrial relations, but it depends a lot on the other side.

"It we play on a level playing field that will be a start.'' Mr. Burgess applauded Canada's legislation which stipulates strikers engaged in a legitimate dispute can only be replaced temporarily by other workers.

They cannot be fired.

"We need something similar here so our workers can be protected. Workers have the right to strike. It is their strongest weapon.'' Mr. Burgess said legislation itself would not solve the labour relations dilemma.

"We cannot do that until we sort our the country's racial problems.'' Unfortunately, however, Mr. Burgess did not believe Human Affairs Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill was the right man to tackle racial divisions.

"Government should have chosen a white man, not a black man.'' On union finances, Mr. Burgess scotched suggestions the BIU was out of funds.

"As with any other business we might have cash flow problems.'' Mr. Burgess said the union had its benefit system, and those who qualified for aid received it.

But he also stressed the Department of Social Services had to play its part.

"That is what they are there for. They should be giving hotel workers a lot of help as they pay more taxes than everybody.'' Mr. Burgess said it was wrong to link the union's reluctance to go to court during disputes with a lack of cash.

"It's nothing to do with not having the money to go to court. It's just we don't feel comfortable going to court.'' The huge fine slapped on the BIU over the strike brought on by the Bermuda Forwarders dispute was an example -- even though the court's decision was later overturned, said Mr. Burgess.

Mr. Burgess continued by touching on the decline in union membership.

He explained it by pointing to the diminishing number of blue-collar workers.

"All over the world jobs are changing. More jobs are coming available in white-collar categories, or those categories which are somewhere between white-collar and blue-collars.

"I think it would be wrong to say the decline in union membership indicates a disenchantment with the union or its leadership.'' And as for the present leadership? "There is nothing wrong with Mr. Simmons. Our members, however, are the ones who will make any decision about the leadership.

"We are democratic in this union. We are not a dictatorship.'' BURGESS: Union healthy.