Labour and Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton is considering looking at the issue of a minimum wage. The practice of legally stipulating that employers are not allowed to pay below a specified rate has been around in America for years while Britain introduced it more recently.

Mr. Horton said he recognised a lot of people were finding it hard to make ends meet on low wages. Asked about the possibility of a minimum wage he told : ?I have thought about that, not to a great extent.

?But as we look at the way our economy is developing it?s something certainly we might spend some time discussing. I think for me it?s well worth putting on the burner.?

However he said increasing affordable housing would also reduce a lot of the hardship.

Minimum wage legislation got scant support from Bermuda Industrial Union leader Derrick Burgess who said the hourly rate would have to be pretty high to work because of Bermuda?s high cost of living, adding: ?People should join unions to get a wage increase.?

Minister Horton revealed he would be lobbying the BIU to discourage disruptive union meetings that have seen the Island?s transport system grind to a halt.

He said: ?That?s something I mean to discuss with the leader of the union. I would like to see as little interruption as possible. It?s important to have meetings. It?s not good when you find people unable to get to work, although usually they stop after people have got to work. But at least there should be some services, not all services should be disbanded for these meetings.

?My concern is the people impacted are at the lower end of the economic ladder. They need those services. I am hopeful we can certainly cut down on the number of times that we have services interrupted. It impacts on poor people when the buses aren?t running.?

The BIU was different from unions with more regular hours such as the teachers union which could schedule meetings after school conceded Mr. Horton.

He said he had given no consideration about bringing legislation but he would try what he called ?moral ?suasion? to press the case.

Mr. Horton?s stance was welcomed by Bermuda Employers Council executive director Martin Law who called on unions to co-operate with employers to minimise disruption. Last month members of the public were left stranded all over the Island for an hour during a transport shutdown as BIU members attended a meeting to sanction a call for a 35-week. Members were paid despite not being at work while the BIU later admitted the public should have been given more warning.

A similar disruption had happened in December when the BIU held a mass membership meeting ? on that occasion to discuss grievances against the Ministry of Labour. Mr. Burgess said he would be happier to meet Mr. Horton on the issue but he defended the meetings in working hours, saying they were commonplace in other jobs. He said: ?Why should industrial workers get treated any different? What?s the big problem??