The Bermuda Industrial Union continued to demand that CableVision boss Jeremy Elmas leave the Island yesterday and urged union members return set-top boxes as a boycott.

But Mr. Elmas told The Royal Gazette on Wednesday he is going nowhere.

He said: "I am going to stay here."

However he revealed his work permit is up in March.

The BIU said Mr. Elmas had maligned the character of their leader Derrick Burgess and refused to abide by arbitrated awards.

Union spokesman Michael Cox said CableVision was continuing to bring foreign workers on higher pay and with housing allowances who needed training despite claiming to be qualified.

And the union claimed CableVision had sacked one foreign worker for refusing to give part of his pay to a foreign colleague in a case which is still outstanding before the Labour Relations Office.

Mr. Cox said: "These are just some of the outstanding issues that the BIU has been dealing with since Jeremy Elmas took over the helm of Bermuda CableVision Ltd. three years ago.

"We are asking Bermudians to understand our plight and to support our efforts to bring justice to the workplace."

He said union members along with the public had suffered from the effects of Fabian.

"We too have families who rely on the public transportation system. We too have children who must get to and from school.

"However we believe that it is time for this government, the government we elected to act on our behalf to justify our expectation of them.

"We believe in this instance Jeremy Elmas must go, and the Ministry of Labour must ask him to leave."

CableVision released a statement from board chairman Rod Hansen last night which attacked the BIU for flouting the law yesterday after Labour Minister Randy Horton sent the dispute to a tribunal, thereby making further strike action illegal.

And Mr. Hansen said the strike had harmed post-Fabian unity as the country cleaned up after the hurricane.

He said sacked technician David Green would not return to the company after CableVision accused him of conspiring to slow output to increase overtime.

He said: "We have agreed to mediation with the BIU because we are confident the evidence will prove the termination was an obvious decision.

"If the mediators' decision is not in our favour then we will live by that ruling, although the terminated employee will not be invited back as a CableVision employee."

And the company hit back at Mr. Burgess' attack on their lawyer Alan Dunch who the union say is calling the shots.

Mr. Hansen said the board and management, not Mr. Dunch took operational decisions.