appears to be headed for arbitration, Government said yesterday.

But Bermuda Industrial Union president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP said arbitration was only one possibility. Negotiation, mediation, or "a massive strike'' were other options, he told The Royal Gazette .

A Government statement said its negotiating team was "disappointed to learn on Friday, through the media, that negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement had broken down''.

Talks on a new contract for bus drivers, ferry and tug boat workers, and Public Works and Agriculture and Fisheries employees have been underway since August, 1994.

A "multitude'' of issues, including wages, are said to remain unresolved. Mr.

Simmons recently said there appeared to be no hope for a negotiated pact. And he accused Government of trying to bust the union.

Yesterday's statement said Government had been willing to negotiate with the union with the help of the Labour Relations Officer, "but all such offers have been refused by the BIU''.

Both parties independently approached the Labour Relations Office for help in June, the statment said.

"On Thursday, July 13, the Labour Relations Office called both parties to a meeting at BIU headquarters to resolve outstanding issues. The BIU refused, however, to participate in any meeting with the employer that involved the Labour Relations Office acting as mediator.

"Consequently, the Labour Relations Office cancelled the meeting.'' The statement said "arbitration now appears to be the only available course of action open''.

The Minister of Home Affairs has the power to impose arbitration on the two parties. Alternatively, the two parties can request arbitration.

Mr. Simmons, who accused Government of "twisting'' the facts, has called the workers to a meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at BIU headquarters.

"Critical decisions must be made in order to force a settlement in these talks,'' he said.

The BIU's mandate from its members was to negotiate an agreement, not reach a contract through mediation, Mr. Simmons said.

"They met here last week and they were not willing to sit and negotiate,'' he said, adding the Government team had been arguing about "the shape of the bargaining table'', rather than the agreement.

Mr. Simmons refused to comment on Government's assertion that both sides in the talks had approached the Labour Relations Office for help.