Bermuda Industrial Union, who recently took up the cause of two fishermen put out of business this summer for using fish pots.

In a statement yesterday the union took a swipe at Environment Minister John Irving Pearman who recently turned down a BIU bid to have their licences reinstated.

The men lost their licences after being fined $1,500 in Magistrates' Court for using the banned fishing gear.

Referring to the controversy currently surrounding Mr. Pearman, the BIU statement said in part, "it was our hope that in the light of the recent problems facing this Minister, who was accused, tried and found guilty by a jury of three, that he would have some understanding of the problems of the common man.'' St. David's fishermen Jack O'Conner and Leslie Pitcher had their licences revoked in June. The pair pleaded guilty to using fish pots in Castle Harbour last November.

The use of all fish pots has been banned since 1990. Fishermen who had used pots, including Mr. O'Conner and Mr. Pitcher, were given a cash compensation for loss of income.

The BIU said their hopes for getting revocation lifted were, "in vain'' as they were recently told, "the Minister has no intention of easing the penalty.'' The Environment Minister has been at the centre of controversy for a number of weeks, ever since it was learned his name was connected to two men arrested for drugs.

"It is ironic this same Minister who was able to get sympathy and encouragement from the public, could be so brutally uncaring of others. "Our question at the Bermuda Industrial Union is: are persons in high profile offices the only persons deserving of any form of compassion?''