employees while union officials are often arrogant and threatening when their demands are not met, Hamilton Rotarians heard this week.

National Liberal Party leader Mr. Gilbert Darrell MP said in a speech on Tuesday that Bermudianisation, bringing employees into a hotel's decision-making process and ceasing to hire British hotel managers will help put the Island's labour relations on the road to recovery.

Mr. Darrell said there needed to be more respect and understanding between hotel management and workers.

And he called on union officials to act more responsibly. "A major complaint against some union officials seems to be their arrogance and the threats that are displayed, particularly when there is opposition to their demands,'' he said.

Mr. Darrell described the "typical'' hotel manager as someone "likely to view his staff as a business expense''.

And he said because of overemployment in the past, a number of hotel workers have "taken their jobs for granted''.

"They (hotel employees) are avid supporters for increased wages each year, regardless of a businesses's ability to meet their demands,'' Mr. Darrell said.

He went on to describe hotel managers as "generally white and often from overseas'', while hotel employees are "drawn from the community and are predominantly black and native''.

"So not only do we have a colour difference, but also a cultural difference,'' Mr. Darrell said. "There is little in common with the composition of labour and management.'' Mr. Darrell also said there needed to be more Immigration Department inspectors to keep an eye on illegal hiring practices in Bermuda.

"Unfortunately there are some employers that will lie, cheat and manipulate to get work permits for non-Bermudian workers -- even in categories that are closed such as sales persons, receptionists and cleaners,'' he said.

"In a country the size of Bermuda it is not acceptable that these illegal activities are widespread...'' Mr. Darrell said there also needed to be a greater effort to promote black Bermudians working in the hotel industry.

"Are qualified black Bermudians going to have to wait two decades like women have had to, in order to be afforded the employment and promotional opportunities they have earned,'' he asked.

And he said it was time to stop hiring managers from Britain, a country which he said was "plagued with industrial unrest'' and where "do it my way attitudes'' prevail.

Examples of "take it or leave it'' positions by unions and management included the Hobgood Award, the Bermuda Forwarders dispute and the Grotto Bay tipping dispute.

In those cases both management and labour "refused to compromise'', he said, "resulting in neither side winning, but instead a distaste bordering on hatred emanating and growing stronger each year''.