admitted over the weekend that the BIU was broke and then made what must be one of the most unrealistic and defensive statements ever reported. Mr.

Simmons said, "We are having problems but it's nothing to do with the recession or any inefficiency in management. It has been caused by the employers.'' Mr. Simmons said that the BIU had invested its members' money "in buildings'' and now had a cash flow problem. In other words, what has happened has nothing to do with the employers and has a great deal to do with the way the BIU hierarchy invested the dues paid by its members. The important thing is that the BIU has "a cash flow problem'' and therefore no cash to give back to its members and cannot help its members in these rough times. The Government was well prepared for the recession but the BIU was not.

The reason the BIU has no cash is that it has millions of dollars in members' money tied up in unproductive or low cash producing buildings, like the union's own offices and the money-losing Liberty Theatre. Buildings cannot be easily turned into ready money when the members need cash and that is especially true in a recession when real estate values fall.

The BIU has over eight and a half million dollars in real estate. Surely some of that could have been in investments or interest earning deposits which could be easily turned into cash in tough times and given back to the members who are hurting. It is unwise for any organisation to have "all its eggs in one basket'' the way the BIU has all its money in real estate. The employers did not do that, the union leaders did.

The union operates the Liberty Theatre and last year it lost over $60,000 for the BIU and there is no indication that the movie house has ever made money.

But Mr. Simmons says there is no inefficiency in management.

Last year the BIU earned just over two million dollars, largely from members' dues, and spent about $80,000 more than it earned. But there is a recession on and everyone else has had to cut back on expenses to balance their budgets.

Why didn't the BIU management do that? It has never been explained how many people the BIU employs or how the whopping $878,294 it spends in salaries to paid officers is divided. The salaries of Parliamentarians and civil servants are public knowledge and the same might be wise for the BIU whose members have a right to know how their dues are spent.

None of this has anything to do with employers but it does have to do with the internal workings and financial management of the BIU. The truth seems to be that in tough times the BIU members cannot get their hands on the money they have contributed to their union. As a result, Mr. Simmons says distressed members cannot be helped by the BIU and are being sent to Government's social services. We can be thankful the Government was better prepared for hard times than the BIU or no-one would get any help. BIU members have a right to expect their union and Government both to help in tough times.

The BIU leadership also has a right to question why the union members do not automatically pay their dues. The BIU relies on employers to collect its dues, and employers question why they should. The fact is that if the employer does not collect the dues, many BIU members do not pay.

The current BIU cash problem started in 1991 when the Hotel Employers of Bermuda discontinued the "check-off'' system which deducts union dues from workers' wages. Mr. Simmons estimates that in the six weeks the HEB stopped the check-off, the BIU lost $120,000 because members did not pay. This newspaper is not opposed to the check-off system but many people find it very strange that employers are expected to collect the union dues and that collection keeps the BIU in business so that the BIU can organise work stoppages at the businesses doing the collecting.

Yes, it is unrealistic for Mr. Simmons to say that the BIU's problems have been caused by the employers, because the BIU's problems rest with the BIU leaders who invested too heavily in buildings and the membership which does not willingly pay its dues. The employers certainly do not run the BIU, nor did they invest the members' money, nor do they operate the Liberty Theatre, nor do employers take salaries from the BIU. The employers do, however, collect the dues which keep the BIU operating.