following complaints that three Ecuadorian kitchen porters were working outside of their job description.

Anonymous callers told The Royal Gazette the three foreigners were working on guest floors as housemen, while the hotel refused to pay Bermudian housemen overtime.

One caller said some housemen were out sick and those that were in were willing to do the work.

But, the caller said: "The hotel does not want to pay overtime to them (the working housemen).'' The caller was also not sure whether the Ecuadorians were being paid for carrying out housekeeping work.

Sonesta manager Mr. David Boyd confirmed that Ecuadorian porters were carrying out the housemen's tasks.

But he stressed that it was only because three of the hotel's six housemen were out sick and the hotel was busy.

"I know that people from the laundry, room services, people from personnel and general office went up (on the guests floors),'' he said.

"I believe that there were two Ecuadorian porters there for up to three hours.

"But I've already spoke to the (Bermuda Industrial) union about it. The union understands the reason we have to rally staff. We had 108 check-ins.'' However, when BIU president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons was contacted, he said: "Management at Sonesta Beach and other hotel management have to comply with Immigration law. If there is a breach there, that is a matter for Immigration''.

While noting that the BIU and Sonesta were not involved in a dispute, he said shop stewards at Sonesta had complained to the union's general manager Ms Molly Burgess.

And, he said, Ms Burgess was willing to look into the matter if it was not resolved at the shop steward level.

Labour Minister the Hon. John Irving Pearman said he was not prepared to comment on the situation until the inspectors had completed their report.

The report would go to Chief Immigration Officer Mr. Neville Smith, he explained.

"Then, if there needs to be a policy decision, it will come to me.'' The complaint was just one of several received recently about Sonesta.