CableVision workers are considering industrial action after accusing the company of dragging its feet over implementing a pay award.

Last month it was announced workers were set for a 4.5 percent pay rise while newly-instituted shift work would allow more flexible hours for maintenance visits to customers' homes.

The three-year pay deal was settled after two-days of arbitration but one worker told The Royal Gazette that the company had yet to pay up.

He added: "They still won't talk to us about when we are going to get the retroactive pay."

The source said staff were getting quite irritated and industrial action could follow.

"The award was settled by arbitration a month and a half ago but it's still not implemented.

"They are dragging it out and trying to find a way not to pay the retroactive pay. It's beyond me, they can't win that case in any way."

He said CableVision bosses said they were trying to work out how to handle the retroactive pay.

"But they haven't even started yet.

"We have been awarded a couple of measly percent but the company has gotten a bigger award because the shift work has killed the overtime."

Staff are also angry about overseas workers being paid twice as much as local workers in some cases.

However, overseas workers do not get paid vacation, sick or overtime pay.

The source said in some cases the overseas workers were worse than the local workers who then had to correct their mistakes.

Another source said the company had tried unsuccessfully to get workers to provide their own tools.

BIU Vice President Chris Furbert, who led negotiations, said the overseas workers also got a $1,500 housing allowance and he called for the vast wage discrepancies to be reduced. Bermuda CableVision General Manager Jeremy Elmas said: "We were surprised to hear through the media that our employees are dissatisfied with the arbitration panel's decision which was made after over a year's negotiations with our employees' representative, the Bermuda Industrial Union.

"This does not reflect what employees are telling us, and we do not believe that these comments reflect the majority of opinions of our staff.

"Over the last two years we have invested millions of dollars upgrading our technology, offering a specialised training programme for our employees as well as improving our facilities and work environment.

"The new technologies that we are introducing are state-of-the-art and require highly skilled technicians, which is why we are training our employees and supplementing them with overseas workers.

"These workers are paid based on their performance, a scheme rejected by the BIU.

"All of these issues were presented to the arbitration panel and they made their decision based on common practice in Bermuda.

"We will continue to make investments in our people and our cable system with a view to making Bermuda CableVision a first-class company that both our employees and customers admire."

On the question of abiding by the award, which comes a year and a half after the last agreement expired, Mr. Elmas said: "Whatever the arbitration decided will be implemented."

He said neither the pay award nor the new shift agreement, which benefited the company, had been implemented but could not give the reasons for the delay as he had not been leading negotiations.

He said: "I don't know if it is both parties or one party."

Mr. Elmas said it was obvious the workers were not happy with the agreement.

"I guess they will go the way they go."