season. Now, once again, Bermuda is poised to shoot itself in the foot just as it is recovering from tough recessionary times by disrupting the hotels on a big weekend.

The Bermuda Industrial Union's decision to stage a hotel strike for this weekend -- or longer -- could seriously damage the rest of the year's tourism and might well mean the closure of major hotels which are already financially threatened. We believe that the hotels have been holding on for the end of the recession hoping -- hoping -- that the end of the recession would mean some good years of recovery. If the hotels do not have good years to recover financially, we believe some will close. With two major hotels and any number of smaller properties already gone, another closure would be the beginning of the end of Bermuda as a major tourist resort.

The Premier's Task Force on Employment has just pointed out that unskilled workers face a grim future unless the hotels return to profitability because the hotels are the largest employers of unskilled workers, many of whom are middle aged. The report points out that the tourism slump and increased operating costs saw the large hotels suffer $41.6 million dollars in losses over the five years to mid-September 1992.

The employment task force suggested that Bermuda should redouble its tourism efforts to compensate for the huge economic blow Bermuda is facing with the closure of the bases.

It is ironic that the suggestion of a hotels strike arises from decisions by the Essential Industries Disputes Board, the very board which was intended to avert strikes in the hotel industry because the strikes are so disruptive to Bermuda's economy. The problem arises because three decisions by three different boards, chaired by non-Bermudians, on essentially the same issue, have gone against the Bermuda Industrial Union but have not been accepted by the Union.

It would seem to be relatively simple. The Union has lost the issue three times after three hearings. Logically, that would seem to be two more hearings than most people get. Many people already feel we have had more hearings than were necessary and clearly it would be unfair to the Hotel Employers of Bermuda to go on having hearings until the BIU wins one. There are many instances in this world when groups and individuals feel hard done by but can do little about it. This may well be an instance when, like it or not, the board's decision should be accepted.