After more than 22 years at the Bermuda College, lecturer Michael Bradshaw is today clearing out his desk.

But uncertainty reigns over whether a severance package agreed to last week by president Michael Orenduff will be honoured by the College.

Last week this newspaper was told that a resolution had been found which would allow Dr. Bradshaw to continue at the College, but it emerged yesterday that Dr. Bradshaw had eventually agreed to a severance package effective June 30 and that Dr. Orenduff had written to the union to say that the agreement may not apply.

"We reached an agreement. (College president) Orenduff then faxed Ed Ball and said essentially that the terms that we had agreed are not the terms he thinks he can agree to," Dr. Bradshaw said.

"It's not that he hadn't handled this before. This is the same agreement that they have just said they handled with (former financial comptroller) Jane Smith."

To thicken the plot, the Human Resources department wrote to Dr. Bradshaw on Friday telling him access to his office and computer at the College would end today ? despite his agreement having an effective termination date of June 30.

"What's embarrassing is I didn't threaten anybody ? physically or even verbally. So why do they start behaving this way ?"

Dr. Bradshaw said that he had made an offer, which was accepted by Dr. Orenduff, to continue assisting with the accreditation project despite his redundancy.

"I sent an email out to the faculty telling them I would not have full time official employment after June 30 but might still be around to assist with the accreditation project and this is what you get back."

Negotiations involving the Bermuda Public Services Union, Dr. Bradshaw and the College began in November, 2003 to establish his job description which was nine months overdue, according to Dr. Bradshaw.

In March the union was told by Larita Alford, then acting president, that Dr. Bradshaw's post as co-ordinator of planning and accreditation would be abolished after May 2005.

According to Dr. Bradshaw, College president Dr. Orenduff would not address Dr. Alford's comments but then offered him a series of options including redundancy.

"Since there was nothing else available to me, I was forced to take that option. I certainly didn't want to leave the College and I certainly didn't want to leave the project," Dr. Bradshaw said.

The College did not respond to a request for clarification yesterday, saying the matter was "ongoing" it would be "inappropriate" to comment.

"The parties could not reach a satisfactory resolution that met Dr. Bradshaw's expectations and the College were not in the position to guarantee a job because we have a new president coming on board," said BPSU president Ed Ball.

"So based on the fact that the union had offered a number of options that were not viable for Mr. Bradshaw or for the College, it was mutually agreed that Mr. Bradshaw would receive a severance package."

Dr. Bradshaw said that the College's offer violated their own agreement that displaced workers of a College-wide reorganisation would be offered an equivalent post or remain at the same salary.

Mr. Ball stressed that the severance agreement did not mean that Dr. Bradshaw had resigned in protest.

"At no time was it considered to be a 'protest resignation'. It was purely that Mr. Bradshaw being a professional could not agree to the terms that were being offered which is his choice."

Asked what was going to happen next, he said: "Basically we are working feverishly to ensure the terms that have been agreed are honoured and I see no reason why they won't be."

Mr. Ball added "I must say it is sad that Mr. Bradshaw has had to leave the College under these circumstances as he does have the College, students and Bermuda's welfare at heart and that industrial relations must improve at the College such that persons who work there feel that policies and procedures are fair and equitable."

The Opposition United Bermuda Party has called for an independent probe into the College's Human Resources practices.

It is understood that the College's Human Resources department, staffed by four full time employees, played no role in Dr. Bradshaw's negotiations.

Mr. Ball said all negotiations were handled by Dr. Orenduff. Dr. Bradshaw said that of about one dozen meetings he only saw the HR department once.

The Human Resources department could have been involved had Dr. Bradshaw requested it, the College said in a statement.

"Dr. Bradshaw chose to bring the issue to his supervisor, Dr. Alford. When Dr. Bradshaw determined no progress was being made, he brought the issue to the president. Had Dr. Bradshaw wished to approach HR, he could have done so. He did request that the BPSU be involved in all discussions. The president is the primary contact with the BPSU."

"HR is supposed to be the body that handles industrial relations, the buffer between management taking a stand and handling the union's or employee's grievances. At times if there has been an infringement by management HR will correct it or if they feel that the union has no case they will say why. But in most cases the HR department is trying to find a win-win solution for these cases," Mr. Ball said when asked for his understanding of the role of the Human Resources department.

He said the union had expected that the negotiations would iron out outstanding "logistical and administrative" issues in Dr. Bradshaw's case.