The settlement of the prison dispute which stipulates heavy Government supervision of Commissioner John Prescod will not force him to resign, Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister predicted yesterday.

Under the deal Mr. Prescod must have localisation training "to ensure his approach is more in keeping with the accepted norms in Bermuda", according to prison officers.

And he must answer to the Premier every three months to show he is implementing all the clauses of a 2001 board of inquiry.

Prison officers have accused Mr. Prescod of being autocratic. They want better appraisal, training, succession planning, career planing and consultation.

Asked if the deal would force Mr. Prescod to resign, Mr Lister said: "I would be gravely and greatly disappointed if he was to resign."

Asked about the localisation training, Mr. Lister said: "It is offered up to some civil servants arriving here to help them understand how to get on in Bermuda."

He said the training would help in relationship building. "I think he will be helped by undergoing that."

Asked about the stipulation that Mr. Prescod must report quarterly to the Premier, Mr. Lister said it could work in the Commissioner's favour.

He said the situation would be supervised by labour relations advisor Arlene Brock.

"If there is little progress she might say the reasons are to neither side's liking," said Mr. Lister

Mr. Lister said it wasn't necessarily a process where Mr. Prescod would be humiliated:"He might find help and assistance in that process. There are two sides."

Earlier Mr. Lister told the House of Assembly that he understood why the prison officers were keen to get the outstanding 2001 recommendation implemented quickly.

He said the four-day dispute had highlighted the need for open communication.

Prison Officers Association spokesman Russ Ford said yesterday: "We would like to thank the community for their support with regards our demonstrations and our fight for the issues at hand, and especially the officers who demonstrated a very professional and capable attitude throughout the week.

"We would also like to thank the spouses and family members of the individual officers, the case workers, and other uniformed staff who gave their support, despite belonging to the BPSU and other unions."

But Shadow Labour Minister Pat Gordon Pamplin said the "debacle" should never have happened.

The Minister's statement "shows very clearly that if there was ever a case of dropping the ball, this is it", Mrs. Gordon Pamplin said.

She said the prison staff had been treated "with disrespect and contemptuously" and the Minister's take it or leave it attitude could only lead to confrontation.

"That says to us and to the Country that one more time we are experiencing a labour government which is showing a serious inability to negotiate a labour contract."

And responding to comments made by labour leader and ruling party backbencher Derrick Burgess, she said: "At no time did I make reference or suggest there would be a general strike."

She also criticised Government for their public relations spin on the dispute by saying the strikers had exercised their democratic rights.

"What they are not saying is that, based on their inability and disdain and disrespect for the workforce, there appears to be negotiations not being held in good faith," she said.

"You cannot and should not frustrate people to distraction where their backs are against the wall and find a resolution and then say I applaud you because you exercised your democratic rights."

She said the remedies agreed to were reasonable steps but should have been taken earlier to avoid an escalation of the dispute.

And referring to the decision to have Mr. Prescod report to the Premier on a quarterly basis, she questioned whether any oversight had been taking place before the dispute came to a boil.

"What on earth have we been doing all along ?" she asked. "Very clearly, someone has made the determination that that it's not important to monitor things all along."

She added: "The professionals have been castigated for taking a strong stand and all they wanted was to be listened to. That's all these men and women were expecting - some level of accountability. How can we have this kind of disrespectful treatment of members of the civil service?"