Members of an independent tribunal established to hear disputes between unions and employers have been selected.

Jason Hayward, the Minister of Labour, selected 28 members to serve on the Employment and Labour Relations Tribunal for the next three years.

Former general secretary of the Bermuda Public Services Union, Ed Ball will serve as the chairman of the tribunal and will be assisted by deputy chairman Michael Bradshaw.

The tribunal was established as part of an amendment to the Employment Act 2000, which went into effect on June 1 and called for the consolidation of tribunals and arbitration panels into one group.

It consists of ten people to speak on behalf of the employers, ten people to speak for the employees and eight barristers, each with Bermudian status.

The tribunal will have the power to hear and arbitrate complaints, disputes and similar matters listed under the Employment and Labour Code.

The chairman of the tribunal will select a chairman, a deputy chairman and an adjudicator for each matter that comes before the tribunal to allow for multiple cases to be dealt with at once.

The tribunal will also have the ability to award compensation to employees who are no longer in their previous position, request parties or documents to appear before any hearing, exclude members of the public or the press whenever deemed necessary and impose a maximum civil penalty of $10,000 for those in breach of the Employment and Labour Code.

A full list of the tribunal includes: Ed Ball, Michael Bradshaw, Lorrita Tucker, Gary Phillips, Michael Frith, Robert Horton, Chen Foley, Clevelyn Crichlow, Craig Rothwell, Derrick Burgess, Henry Creighton, John S Hindness, John Willis Francis Payne, Michael Hanson, Orin Simmons, Paget Wharton, Peter Aldrich, Judith Elise Hall-Bean, Betty I Christopher, Kelly Francis, McKeisha Smith, Yolanda Outerbridge, Carolyn Pacheco, Charlene A Scott, Cheri Minors, Jocene Harmon, Keren VP Lomas and Valerie Young.