according to UPS Bermuda manager Eddie Lamb.

Mr. Lamb said the 15-day strike by Teamsters union members of UPS in the United States crippled the courier company and all but closed down the local office.

"We should be back to the frantic pace we're used to by next week,'' Mr. Lamb told The Royal Gazette .

The courier business both in the US and Bermuda was thrown into confusion by the strike at America's largest parcel company. While UPS shut down, other couriers reeled under the increased demand.

Mr. Lamb said the Bermuda office was stripped down to, "bare bones,'' during the dispute. Last week he laid off two workers until the strike, and its aftermath were behind them.

"One worker will be back in the office today,'' he said on Thursday. "The other one starts again on Monday.'' UPS and the Teamsters agreed late on Monday to a five-year deal that includes the union's demand for 10,000 new full-time jobs from existing part-time positions.

The Teamsters, who represent nearly two-thirds of the 302,000 UPS employees in the United States went on strike on August 4. Their contract expired July 31.

UNIONS UNS