been blasted as "one sided'' by the Bermuda Restaurant Association.

Association President Mr. John Roach responded angrily yesterday to the 30-name petition handed to the Ministry of Labour last week.

Mr. Roach says a winter moratorium on foreign entertainers and a two week maximum stay during summer would be unworkable.

He said: "The musicians' efforts to impose moratoriums and unworkable restrictions on the hiring of foreign entertainers will not lead to the hiring of more local musicians.

"We would prefer not to incur the additional inconvenience and expense of work permit fees, airline tickets and accommodation costs if the need was not there.

"We would like very much to have a large group of good local entertainers available to employ on a rota basis enabling us to offer good quality refreshing entertainment to our customers.

"While there are quite a few talented musicians in Bermuda there are just not sufficient numbers of local entertainers to provide the level of talent and the necessary change of faces which we need in our type of establishments.'' Mr. Roach said it was interesting to note that it is often the musicians themselves who hire foreign musicians to play in their own groups and they are objecting to their own practices.

He continued: "Whilst no-one wants to see anyone underemployed it is the customers who determine the standard of entertainment required.

"In Bermuda the standard expected by our visitors and both foreign and local residents is very high. It is the customers who determine the type and style of entertainment which is offered by choosing where they give their business.

"The musicians' request that there be a moratorium on foreign entertainers during the winter is not beneficial to anyone. This is a time when business is at its worst and very few establishments offer entertainment of any kind. It is better to encourage a mixture of local and foreign entertainment than to have none at all.

"The musicians' argument that in the summer Bermudians should work on a one-on-one basis with the foreigners is completely unworkable from an economic and logistics standpoint, as is the idea of only granting permits for up to two weeks.'' Mr. Roach said that the Restaurant Association believed the musicians' demands were totally one-sided. He said: "It is merely an attempt to pressure Government to produce work where none exists.

"As major providers of entertainment to Bermuda's visitors and residents we feel that we must maintain certain standards and the same time encourage development of local talent.'' He said that Association would continue to work with the Labour Ministry to evolve reasonable guidelines.