Government had promised Club Med workers they would get compensation.

Finance Minister Eugene Cox said this week that Government had paid workers $89,000 because it had an obligation to do so. He said the UBP administration had not delivered its guarantee that the hotel's former owners would be paid compensation by the former owners.

But Mr. Edness, who was Works and Engineering Minister when the last workers were made redundant in 1997, said this was untrue.

Eleven unionised workers were kept on at Club Med after it was closed in 1988 to look after the St. George's property.

Mr. Edness said yesterday he was approached by the Bermuda Industrial Union at the 11th hour to try to obtain compensation for the staff and even called the hotel owners at the Airport as they were leaving the Island.

He said he tried to persuade the company to pay the workers but was told by them that they were under no legal or moral obligation to do so.

"There was no promise by the UBP and no obligation on behalf of the Government to pay compensation,'' he told The Royal Gazette .

"All we did was try to intervene and assist. The union has to take responsibility if compensation was to be paid because they dropped the ball by not looking at it until so late.''