A dramatic drop in male membership at the Bermuda Public Service Association is causing concern among its executives.

The union is looking for ways to lure its male members back into top spots.

BPSA president Ms Leleath Bailey made a plea yesterday for union men to take on more leadership roles.

Speaking to the Lions Club at the Princess Hotel, she said male membership has fallen dramatically over the past five years she added. Now, almost 80 percent of the 2,500 BPSA members are women.

The BPSA management committee which includes divisional councils, is now dominated by women by more than two to one.

Ms Bailey attributed men's lack of interest in the union to outside business involvements. And she said women are generally more likely to involve themselves in volunteer work.

But it was ironic that the association, which for years has promoted women's rights in the work force, is now complaining of a lack of male leadership.

To encourage them back, Ms Bailey said a merit system may be introduced to encourage men along with women to climb the ranks of the association.

"In the past trade unionists were mostly male, but this is not the case today,'' she said.

The trend, she said, reflects an overall increase in the number of women entering the job market, brought to light by the 1991 census. It revealed that the number of women entering the labour market was twice that of men.

"In Bermuda, especially in the BPSA, females have played a major role,'' said Ms Bailey.

In many areas of the civil service, such as Customs and Immigration, maternity leave and equal pay are now available to female employees.

The BPSA is pressing for more care centres for children and the elderly, because increasing numbers of women have full-time jobs.

Negotiation with the Government to provide a child care centre for union members is ongoing, she said.

"Over the years we have been having discussions with Government on and off about the possibility of them finding us a building or space for child care.'' "Some of our overseas affiliates already have this in place through their employers. However to date, Government has not been able to fulfil this provision,'' she said.

The BPSA is also pressing for better training of young Bermudians.

"Our education system should be geared to ensure young people are trained for the Island's future needs,'' said Ms Bailey.

Privatisation and technological changes are other key issues the union expects to address in the near future.

Ms Bailey said workers should not accept privatisation blindly.

"Most surveys conducted after privatisation have shown that profitable government enterprises have been farmed out to the friends of governments at the expense of the people,'' she said. "My advice is to resist all forms of privatisation.'' Ms Leleath Bailey.