more than 20 years, will be honoured for their service at an upcoming Labour Day banquet.

"They are the union on the job,'' Bermuda Industrial Union leader Mr.

Ottiwell Simmons MP said yesterday. "They are always in the first line of fire when disputes occur or a grievance is filed.

"They are key people in terms of relations between management and the worker.

Very often a grievance occurs on the job and the shop steward is able to solve it without reference to BIU headquarters.

"They have to have good communication skills, be caring and bold, because employers, at times, can label them as troublemakers.'' Mr. Simmons said he felt all his shop stewards, who are elected by employees of the hotels, restaurants, Government departments and businesses that they represent, were "hard-working and dedicated officials, worthy of recognition''.

They yesterday posed outside BIU headquarters for an official group photograph.

At the September 4 banquet in their honour, they will each be presented with a copy of the photograph and a certificate of recognition.

And after the Labour Day Parade on Monday, September 6, the theme of which is Youth is Focus, one of the younger shop stewards will give a speech.

The 300-strong army of shop stewards will also be marching in their own block during the parade through Hamilton.

"THE UNION ON THE JOB'' -- The majority of the Island's estimated 300 shop stewards turned up yesterday for an official group photograph outside Bermuda Industrial Union headquarters. They are to be honoured at a special pre-Labour Day banquet on September 4 for their "dedicated service'' in helping to solve worker-management disputes.