of Bermuda and the Bermuda Industrial Union to break down, a union spokesman said yesterday.

A meeting has been called at the BIU headquarters on Thursday afternoon so that members can decide what to do next.

BIU president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons told reporters he had received a letter from HEB executive officer Mr. John Harvey which said the "process of mediation will not be productive nor successful.'' The letter was addressed to Labour relations officer Mr. Edwin Wilson with copies sent to Labour and Home Affairs Minister the Hon. John Irving Pearman and Mr. Roger Borsink, president of the Hotel Employers of Bermuda.

It referred to negotiations for a new collective agreement between the BIU and six member properties.

They are: Southampton Princess, Hamilton Princess, Sonesta Beach Hotel, Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort, Belmont Hotel and the Harmony Club.

Mr. Harvey requested that the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board be convened "as early as possible'' so that awards could be made on the outstanding issues.

This, he said, was consistent with the Labour Relations Amendment Act of 1991.

But Mr. Simmons said it was ironic that the HEB would call for the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board to step in.

He said the law stipulated that when parties in an essential industry have a irreconcilable difference, the collective agreement that existed prior to the beginning of negotiations "shall be deemed to be in force and shall continue to be in force until replaced by the new agreement.'' And it was this section of the law he claimed the HEB wanted repealed.

Mr. Simmons said a second difficulty arose because the HEB have not publicly said they will go along with the award Mr. Ronald Houghton fixed in 1991.

"We have some difficulties with the situation now,'' Mr. Simmons continued.

"It looks to me as if the Government...through Mr. Irving Pearman is considering repealing that law. Now the HEB is needing that law.'' Mr. Simmons said the Minister had to settle the matter conclusively because without it "the workers have the right to strike without interference by the Minister.

HEB-BIU talks break down "The purpose of the law was to provide a mechanism for the Union and the HEB to resolve their disputes rather than to have strikes.

"What the HEB wants is peace without a price and I can tell peace is not free to anybody. We all have to pay for it.'' Last week Mr. Simmons warned that hotel staff and employers were on a collision course.

And he firmly laid the blame at the door of the Hotel Employers of Bermuda.

Both sides had failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Mr. Simmons accused hoteliers of showing utter "disrespect and contempt'' for the Bermuda Industrial Union, Government and the law by refusing to sign an agreement.

But Mr. Harvey accused the BIU of making "outlandish demands''.

The BIU and the HEB have not had a collective bargaining agreement since 1991, despite attending boards of inquiry.

Thirteen of the smaller HEB hotels have refused to sign an agreement, arguing labour legislation meant they would be permanently bound to the BIU.

They have called on Government to amend the legislation.

The current round of talks began on December 12, and after a short break kicked off again on January 17.

The discussions are aimed at hammering out a three-year contract, expiring in 1998.

So far none of the major parts of an agreement have been resolved, including wages, holiday pay and pensions.

Mr. Simmons has said, among other things, the HEB were proposing: Slashing maternity leave from nine weeks to seven; and Forcing employees to pay 50 percent of the cost of the booklets outlining the collective agreement.

Mr. Simmons described the maternity leave plan as an insult to female workers, while the other proposal was sheer "foolishness''.