which will have knocked many tourism watchers out of their chairs.

Bermuda's hoteliers and the Bermuda Industrial Union deserve enormous praise for having negotiated a new three-year collective bargaining agreement in just a few weeks.

This stands in stark contrast to previous negotiations when it took labour disputes, mediation, arbitration and boards of inquiry before agreements were reached -- or imposed -- among much rancour.

While the details of the new agreement were not made public on Thursday evening (and they should have been), the fact an agreement has been reached amicably and peacefully augurs well.

Both the union, led by Derrick Burgess, and the Hotel Employers of Bermuda, led by Dennis Tucker, deserve credit for achieving this settlement, which may herald a new era in labour relations. Not long ago, we expressed concern about a spate of wildcat industrial disputes and worried that labour relations were worsening. At least with regard to the tourism industry, we stand corrected.

The Government may also deserve credit. It was hoped that having a Government which identified with workers' concerns would improve labour relations and this seems to have happened. It may be that the BIU wants Government's plans for tourism to succeed -- as doubtless, tourism's managers do -- and recognises that work stoppages and disputes only hurt the industry.

It also seems likely that the Monitor Group helped to lay the groundwork by persuading the two sides to work together, see each others' points of view and improve the often antagonistic atmosphere which surrounds hotel talks.

This agreement, along with the news that the eco-tourism resort at Daniel's Head and the new hotel/condo complex at the Palm Reef Hotel are going ahead, is the best news that the tourism industry has had in some time.

SQUATTERS EDT Squatters Graphic evidence that Bermuda's housing problem has not gone away has been provided by The Royal Gazette's reports that squatters have been living in the former staff quarters at Club Med for some months.

Some people will doubtless feel that the squatters are nothing more than scroungers who have taken advantage of the building and its free electricity.

There may be some merit in this, but the stories also reflect the fact that the lack of affordable housing remains a very real problem in Bermuda. People do not squat -- with eviction an ever present threat -- if they can afford a home of their own. They may be acting illegally, but they need help, not punishment.