developers bidding for the Berkeley Institute contract should be left out in the cold because they do not pay union rates and benefits.

The Bermuda Industrial Union president said no matter how good their bid was, they should be disqualified for the $70 million job for failing to pay workers accordingly.

Five companies were invited by Government to bid for the work, but Mr. Burgess said Bermuda Tech, Somers Construction and BCM McAlpine should not be considered.

He said: "These companies are presently under-paying workers according to union rates. They have these people working more than 40 hours on straight time and they are not getting the benefits that union workers should get.

"They are simply not adhering to the International Labour Organisation Convention 94.

"As far as the union is concerned, these companies should not even be considered for the Berkeley job.'' The bidding box was opened for the five contractors last Friday.

Government's technical officers are now analysing and considering the tenders to ensure each of the developers can live up to the time scale and financial constraints in place.

By the middle of the month the successful bidder will be announced, and work could be underway as soon as April 1.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said Government would be paying no attention to which companies paid union rates and which ones did not.

And he refused to name any of the companies who had submitted bids for the contract.

He said: "Government does not have a tendering policy that incorporates whether a shop should be union or not.

"That is where the preference of a labour government may be for most workers, but it is not enshrined in any of our policies or legislation.

"We would find ourselves in trouble if we excluded any bid because of something like that. We will be considering each of the five bids equally.'' Mr. Scott said he was on a very strict deadline, with the school having to be built by April, 2003, and opened the following September.

For that reason, he said Government had to be sure the successful contractor was able to deliver on time.

He added: "We want to make sure that the various companies that quoted prices can actually carry out the work they have submitted for, and within the deadline.

"We must have the new school completed within two years.'' The new site will be very modern and boast top notch facilities.

The three companies accused of paying less than union rates did not return calls to The Royal Gazette yesterday.