the Hon. Irving Pearman sent a tips row to a disputes board for the third time.

But hoteliers were furious at Mr. Pearman's announcement, saying it had "made a mockery of the entire system.'' "All he's doing is placating the union,'' said Hotel Employers of Bermuda executive officer Mr. John Harvey.

Mr. Pearman said yesterday he would ask the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board to rule on the tips row for the third time, with a hearing likely in April.

The dispute relates to two 1993 decisions of the board over whether BIU hotel workers were entitled to 1992 gratuity increases of 25 cents per worker per day.

The initial ruling, on January 14 of last year, was interpreted by the BIU as meaning that the workers should receive the payments. But after protests from hoteliers, Government agreed the wording was ambiguous and asked a new board to resolve the matter.

The new decision, released in August, was hailed as a victory by the hoteliers and condemned by the BIU as robbing workers of their tips.

But Mr. Pearman said yesterday that it, too, was ambiguous. The board "said they reverted back to the earlier position, which was the ambiguous one we asked them to clarify,'' he said.

Union chief Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP said Mr. Pearman's announcement was a direct result of the BIU strike threat.

On Tuesday, the BIU presented Mr. Pearman a 1,000-name petition, protesting "pocketing'' of their tips by HEB hotels. If the dispute was not satisfactorily resolved, a strike vote would be taken on March 15, the Minister was told.

"As soon as we announced there will be a strike vote, then he announces there will be a hearing,'' Mr. Simmons said yesterday. "If we did not announce it, there would not have been any announcement from him -- not from that fellow.'' But Mr. Pearman denied there was a link. He attacked Mr. Simmons for "blatant hypocrisy''.

The board would have new members, he said. While the decision had already been made, the appointment of the board had to await the expiry of terms of members who heard the same dispute last time.

On Monday night, Mr. Pearman sat beside Mr. Simmons in the House of Assembly and told him what he planned to do, he said.

Earlier yesterday, Mr. Simmons said he was only aware of what he heard through media reports. "Mr. Pearman has not notified me of anything, up to this moment,'' he said.

When told of Mr. Pearman's comments, Mr. Simmons agreed the Minister spoke to him, but said "to the best of my knowledge'' he did not say he would send the matter to a third board.

"He's never made it clear to me, what he was going to do,'' Mr. Simmons said.

Along with disagreement over how many hotels should sign the award, the tips issue has kept a 1991-94 contract between the HEB and BIU from being signed.

Appointment of a new board on the gratuities issue could be the answer, Mr.

Simmons said. "If it's a mechanism that is going to give finality to the dispute and a just ruling, it has got to be of good effect.'' Mr. Harvey said the first he heard the news was from a Royal Gazette reporter.

"This is ridiculous,'' he said. "It's been resolved twice now.'' Mr. Harvey said Mr. Pearman's decision "made a mockery of the entire system,'' and was "a huge setback for labour relations in this Country.'' Mr. Pearman said he had not yet notified the HEB of his decision, but Mr.

Harvey's comments "are really quite hollow.'' As Minister, he had a responsibility to "apprehend a dispute,'' and step in if the union and hoteliers could not resolve their differences, he said.