yesterday as the company was hit by yet another labour dispute.

Spokesperson Ona Fletcher confirmed that operators at the local phone service provider had some "issues'' but she couldn't provide any details. She said the Bermuda Industrial Union met with operators and then with company officials.

"There are people working the phones and they are trying to handle the volume of calls,'' she told The Royal Gazette .

By mid afternoon, all was back to normal. BIU president Derrick Burgess confirmed that about eight operators had downed tools because of a scheduling dispute.

Mr. Burgess laid the blame squarely at the feet of management. "It's something that need not have happened,'' he said."We have been trying to get it sorted out for weeks now and they had to down tools.'' Yesterday's drama was a replay of what happened last October when operators downed tools over disagreements with their work rotas. Normal service was resumed after four hours following a meeting between management and union representatives.

Mr. Burgess said that he hoped the issue had been put to bed for good. "It's the responsibility of management to motivate them -- not make them miserable,'' said Mr. Burgess. "The slave mentality days are gone -- where it's `do as I say'. Now the workers have a say. We're asking those managers to listen to their employees.''