Grotto Bay Hotel employees were "tricked'' into signing a form saying they agreed to a new contact not recognising the Bermuda Industrial Union, an employee told the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board yesterday.

Bellman Mr. Unray Waldron testified he was suddenly called away from his job for a tour of the hotel this summer.

After that tour, he told the board he was given a pin stating "We Want to Be The Best'' and asked to sign a form.

Anxious to get back to his job because the bell desk was "short staffed'', he said he signed the form without reading it.

He claimed he was led to believe he had to sign the form to show he had received the pin.

"It was sneaky and it disturbs me,'' he said. "He tricked us -- it was all done so fast.'' Mr. Waldron said not all employees have been asked to sign the form.

Yesterday's talks, which resumed last Wednesday after a two-month adjournment, also saw the two sides arguing over whether Prof. Ronald Haughton had found a collective agreement existed between the BIU and HEB when he found for the BIU in March and ordered it to reinstate the mandatory tipping system.

BIU general secretary Ms Molly Burgess testified that in her opinion Prof Haughton had found a collective agreement existed.

But, lawyer Mr. Alan Dunch interrupted to say that in Grotto Bay's opinion he had not.

Mr. Simmons' venturing into the content and outcome of the Haughton hearing prompted numerous objections from Mr. Dunch.

He charged the Haughton hearing -- held before another panel of the disputes board earlier this year -- had nothing to do with the present hearing.

Board chairman Mr. Michael Mello, likening the two hearings to boxing matches, agreed with him.

"Government said the last hearing was off and ordered a rematch,'' Mr. Mello said. "We are now here hearing the rematch.'' Before Ms Burgess took the stand, three employees told of their frustration at having to work at the hotel under the new contract whether they liked it or not.

Longtime employees Mr. Waldron, house man Mr. Kim Wilkinson and dining room captain Mrs. Harriet Hendrickson all said the only reason they are continuing to work at the hotel is because they need their jobs.

The three workers said they were making less money under the new optional gratuity system. And they said as far as they were concerned a collective agreement, although expired, is in place at the hotel but Grotto Bay simply refuses to recognise the fact.

Mrs. Hendrickson said the fact union dues were deducted from her pay cheque up until January 1992 -- when the new system was put in place -- was proof the hotel recognised the agreement.

The board is being asked to decide is whether a collective agreement exists between the hotel and the BIU.

If it finds one exists, it must determine whether the hotel committed any "unfair industrial practices'', whether a "remedy'' should be granted, and whether three hotel employees were unfairly dismissed.

The BIU's position is a collective agreement -- although expired -- does exist at the hotel and will continue to until the hotel gives the union three months' notice.

The hotel's position, however, is that the BIU has had no standing at the hotel since February 1991 and the collective agreement has not been followed in full since November 1987 when it resigned the HEB.

Mr. Dunch said the hotel uses the collective agreement as a "guideline''. And he has said the BIU "fails to understand'' an employer is free to terminate a relationship with any employee and any union whenever it wants.