Construction workers are scared to seek union protection for fear of being sacked, a labourer claimed yesterday.

And he said unscrupulous firms are using intimidation to keep employees from using union power to improve poor terms and conditions in the industry.

The man -- who asked not to be named -- added: "A lot of guys are working under fear.

"When you get a boss saying you can be replaced tomorrow because there are a lot of guys out of work, there's a lot of frustration.

"It seems like there is a no-win situation for local workers -- there's no way you can force their hand about overtime when you can lose your job in the blink of an eye.'' The man said: "Probably the majority of the guys at my place want to be unionised -- but the fear is so great, it's phenomenal.

"Of course, if one person decides to be the catalyst, they will find themselves on the outside and somebody else won't be prepared to lose their job.'' But yesterday, Bermuda Employers' Council Malcolm Dixon said he had never heard member firms express anti-union views.

He added: "I'm surprised that someone would say such a thing.'' The construction worker, however, added that local labour was being discriminated against in favour of overseas workers.

He said: "The locals are not being paid any double-time, overtime or time-and-a-half -- it's all straight time.

"It's uncomfortable when you hear what the foreigners are getting. These guys are union, of course, and they believe in the principle that we should be, too.'' He added: "It's a union agreement they came to Bermuda with -- but it seems strange they're coming here with a union agreement while we aren't getting one because of fear.

"Contractors and sub-contractors are just railroading guys -- and that's wrong.'' And the man, who works at a Hamilton city building site, said some small contractors and sub-contractors -- although not his own -- made deductions for hospital levy and social insurance and failed to pass them on to Government.

Others, he claimed, regularly short-changed their staff on an hour or two over the week -- with little comeback from workers scared of losing work if they complained too much.

He added: "These are realities which have to be faced -- a lot of them are paying cash, so there's no way of checking on them.'' And he insisted: "There are a lot of things which are terribly out of order in construction and they need to be addressed.'' He said: "The key things which are not being paid are benefits -- it's important to have insurance and hospital levy paid.'' The man added that the issue was becoming increasingly important as an ageing workforce looked towards retirement.

And he said employers were still using the excuse of recovery from the recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s for treating their workers badly.

The man said: "They need to pull these curtains back and give us our due.

"But the bosses are just going to keep on the way they're going.'' But Mr. Dixon said: "If they are holding money back, we do not condone that under any circumstances as the national employers' organisation.

"There is no way we would support anything like that going on with any employer.'' BUSINESS BUC