practising what it preaches.

Mr. Craig Fubler, who up to a month ago worked as a part-time maintenance man at the BIU, told The Royal Gazette he was fired because a group of men visited him on the job for personal reasons.

"I did not invite the guys there,'' Mr. Fubler said. "I took them outside of my office and told them never to visit me again on the job.'' Mr. Fubler also said there was no commotion when the men visited him and a female colleague could support his story.

About a week after the incident BIU chief organiser Mr. Robert Johnson told him the union's executive had decided to fire him.

"I could understand a warning,'' Mr. Fubler said. "But I can't understand why they would fire me over something like this.'' Before the incident his bosses told him he worked well.

But Mr. Fubler said he was never made full-time and that did not stop them from firing him.

And yesterday, he added, he found out the union had hired a full-time replacement.

Mr. Johnson stressed that Mr. Fubler was only hired to "paint some doors and walls''.

"He was temporary,'' Mr. Johnson said. "But he eventually interpreted that as full-time work.'' Mr. Johnson also stressed that Mr. Fubler was fired "for letting a ruffian group come to the (BIU) office'' with threatening behaviour.

"I don't know what he's into, but some strange people came to see Craig and wanted to beat him up,'' Mr. Johnson said.

"But he was fired for letting a ruffian group come to the office and threaten him. He also grabbed a hatchet, which he had as a part of his job, to defend himself.'' However after that meeting, Mr. Johnson said, they learned that Mr. Fubler was recently convicted of armed robbery and was on probation or "some sort of community service programme''.

"Sometimes we could not find him,'' Mr. Johnson recalled. "And about two weeks ago we found out he was doing community service.'' Mr. Johnson said he could understand Mr. Fubler's motives for not informing the union about his situation.