Industrial Union and employers for not following agreed procedures on solving disputes.

Mr. Edward Ball, assistant to the BPSA general secretary, said existing labour laws dealt with many of the problems seen in recent disputes.

Mr. Ball, speaking to Sandys Rotarians, stressed he was talking personally and his comments did not represent the official BPSA view.

He said labour relations on the Island were generally good, but the climate had worsened in the last four years.

Employers, facing issues of employee productivity, efficiency and perceived declining profits, had very little tolerance for work stoppages and other industrial unrest.

The unions had concerns about job security, wage demands to keep abreast with inflation and wanted a greater voice for their members in workplace decisions.

"As battle lines were drawn between the largest trade union and her employer representatives, the smaller unions redirected their efforts to making negotiations fairer through the use of compromise and respect for each other's positions.'' The BIU and employers had failed to use grievance procedures laid down in their agreements, leading to hardened employer positions and a "strike now, talk later'' union attitude.

Overseas negotiators had changed the bargaining rules and the union had felt its autonomy was threatened, he said.

And the Press had exploited public discontent, said Mr. Ball. The fact that existing laws addressed many of the issues had not been realised.

Most importantly, these included the Labour Relations Act 1975, which dealt with conciliation, mediation and arbitration.

"If both parties had respected first the philosophy and secondly the intent of arbitration, then the Island may have escaped the hardship of industrial unrest,'' he said.

Bermuda's labour laws were adequate if administered correctly, but the 1991 Essential Industries Act and the 1992 Trades Dispute Act had been rushed through and were more like stop-gap measures.

He said the Labour Advisory Council would have to "re-invent the wheel on trust, respect and communication''.

UNIONS UNS