held to ransom'' if the Bermuda Industrial Union became the "cohesive'' voice for the taxi industry.

But Transport Minister Ewart Brown said Ms Gordon's view was "very negative'', adding Government saw the BIU much more as a "partner'', a relationship with whom would help to give the industry "some structure''.

And BIU president Derrick Burgess also defended the move, saying it was "not the objective'' of his body to be "disruptive''.

Ms Gordon was responding to last week's news from Dr. Brown that "the stage had been set'' for the BIU to be officially recognised as the lead organisation to represent the needs and concerns of taxi owners and operators.

In a Christmas Eve press conference, Dr. Brown noted that benefits coming from such a relationship would include "organised, dedicated representation'' and also the possible introduction of a central dispatching system to help in administration.

But last night Ms Gordon stated that the "autonomy'' of certain parts of the taxi industry must be maintained.

She recalled that, during Bermuda's last major strike involving transportation, "the only thing that kept Bermuda going were the taxis because there were a lot of people out on sympathy''.

She said: "The concern that I have is that if the taxis all fall under one group, it will mean that the Country could be held to ransom during a strike.'' Ms Gordon also asked: "How can you make a structure like the unions represent drivers when they're all entrepreneurs? "They pay for their own medallions and they pay for their own business and it's worrying when you see that such people are being pressured into joining one body, which may not effectively represent their concerns.'' But Ms Gordon's was mainly worried that the Country would be brought to a "standstill'' if the taxi industry's independence was taken away.

"I'm just asking for a bit of caution in how we move ahead,'' she said, "because we must be concerned when a certain group seems to be heading towards absolute power''.

Ms Gordon added: "I think the Minister is trying to do an admirable thing, but I also think that the end result of this could be disastrous.'' She suggested that, instead of the BIU representing the needs of taxi owners and operators, a committee be elected by all of them, so that "it would be more democratic''.

In response, Dr. Brown said: "(Ms Gordon) sees the union as the natural enemy while this Government sees it as a partner.

"We've demonstrated that we intend to negotiate with the union and we've also made it clear that time has come for the taxi industry to be organised,'' he added. "We are confident that the union, as the lead organisation to represent them, will have no interest in bringing about hardship for Bermudian people.

"No-one is being forced to join it, that's not part of the vision. But there does need to be some structure and we're confident that this is the best way to do it. Ms Gordon's approach is a very negative one.'' Mr. Burgess echoed the statements he made at the press conference, saying: "It is not the intention of the BIU to cripple the country but to represent the needs of the workers.'' "Any time we try to do something positive for the country, they (the Opposition) look at us as if we're trying to be disruptive,'' he said.