Chris Furbert last night stormed to victory as the new president of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU).

Mr. Furbert won 31 votes out of 34 at the union?s delegates? conference. He declared himself ?very emotional? after the election win at BIU headquarters and said it had been ?an extremely long ride?.

?I feel extremely proud about what I have been able to accomplish with the support of the membership,? he told . He said his first goal would be to hold a survey of members to find out what they wanted from him as president.

?I don?t want to take anything for granted,? he said. ?As a new leader I might think I know what they want but it?s up to me to find out what they want. What would they like to see??

In his acceptance speech to the conference, father-of-five Mr. Furbert, 53, said: ?Becoming president of our great organisation, the Bermuda Industrial Union, is definitely a dream come true. My ambition to become president of the BIU started back in the early 1970s and today I am humbled that my dream has become a reality. Thank you.?

He said he was indebted to the port workers? division of the BIU, of which he was president from 1981 to 1995. ?I?ll never forget where I came from,? he said.

He told delegates: ?We have a difficult task ahead of us as we continue the struggle to obtain and maintain proper salaries, wages, rates of pay, hours of work and other conditions of employment.?

Of his predecessor Derrick Burgess, who retired yesterday after ten years in the top job, Mr. Furbert said: ?Brother Derrick, you should feel extremely proud about the things you have accomplished in your tenure.

?I am not Brother Derrick, nor will I try to be. I am human and will no doubt make my share of mistakes, but isn?t that what it takes to become a successful leader?

?My vision for the future of our great union, brothers and sisters, is that there must be harmony, togetherness, involvement, commitment, honesty, dedication, strength, unity, if we are to survive into the future.?

Mr. Furbert has been a member of the BIU for 35 years and was once deemed to be a union radical. Insiders say he has mellowed out in recent years but yesterday he told he would continue to fight for his members and make tough decisions with their backing.

?People make it sound like I have made decisions without thought,? he said. ?I think that the time that I spent as president of the port workers? division, the membership supported me and felt that I made the right decisions.?

He would not comment on the union?s recent controversial proposal for its members to have a 35-hour week. But he did reiterate a pledge by Mr. Burgess to file the union?s accounts as soon as possible with the Registrar General. BIU?s accounts have not been filed, as required by law, since 1999.

?We are going to work with the auditors to get them done as quickly as we possibly can, hopefully by the end of May or June. Once they are ready, they will go to the Registrar.?

Government ministers Dr. Ewart Brown and Randolph Horton have recently urged the BIU to stop holding daytime meetings with its members which cause disruption to services.

Mr. Furbert said: ?We have a right to talk to our members and if 12 o?clock in the day is not a good time, 7 p.m. is not going to be a good time either.

?No matter what time we do it we will have a problem with the general public. We are trying to be a bit more responsible and we will try to do that in the future.

?But if the BPSU (Bermuda Public Services Union) has a meeting in working hours, there is nothing said about that. You can?t have that double standard.

?I?m not making a commitment one way or another that we will change the process. We hold our meetings in consultation with the government negotiating team.?

He added: ?I think we have a challenge moving forward. People resist change, not just in Bermuda, but all around the world. I think it?s how we go about implementing change. The more dialogue we have with the employers, the more we can understand why they are instituting the change.?

One ballot was spoilt and two votes were cast for the union?s education officer Collin Simmons in yesterday?s election.

Mr. Furbert is married to Tracey and has three sons, Jevone, Chris Jr. and Idrees, and two daughters, Kryshae and Isra.