labour dispute are the ones it was all about -- the workers at the hotel.

It is difficult to believe that after last week's work stoppage they don't want to have a say in who should represent them and under what set of terms conditions they will work.

If there is no consensus on whether they want to work under the hotel contract or be represented by the union and work under the Haughton award, they should vote first on whether they want to be represented by the union and if so, whether they want an agency shop, including the automatic deduction of union dues.

If they do not want to be represented by the union, then they should start work under the new Elbow contract.

Perhaps the same vote should be held in all the hotels, including Grotto Bay, Pink Beach and all the other properties where management has broken with the Hotel Employers of Bermuda and with the BIU.

At the same time, Government should make its review of its labour legislation an urgent priority. It should be recognised that parts of the laws are not working.

If the essential industries legislation was working as it was intended to, last week's dispute would never have happened. It's been said that June 28 was the earliest date all the sides could get together. But it was no secret that there was going to be a dispute and it should have been possible to force a hearing between the sides to resolve the issue.

A vote on representation could go either way and the workers would probably have to decide on whether the hotel or the union represented the lesser of two evils, because neither side came out of the dispute very well.

Elbow's decision to eliminate the check-off without consultation and its failure to determine from the staff how they wanted to be represented will have damaged the trust any employer should have with its employees.

The BIU lost the support of some of its members by preventing them from working. It also lost the respect of the guests by disturbing a dining room at the hotel and preventing visitors from enjoying their expensive holidays.

And it has lost the respect of the public by jeopardising what was promising to be the first good tourist season since 1990. They will have hurt the welfare of their own members if this action reduces occupancies at Elbow and at other hotels.

Members of the hotel division of the union might also remember that if the BIU had not rejected the Hobgood Award all those months ago, then this dispute would never have happened and they would also be better off.

The union, which arguably was fighting for its survival in the Elbow dispute, would also be better off because there is a strong likelihood that Grotto Bay, Pink Beach and the smaller hotels who are balking at signing the Haughton Award would still be members of the HEB and their staff would still be represented by the BIU.

Perhaps something can be learned from all of this. Reform of the labour laws to ensure they are fair to both sides -- and that their provisions and those in labour contracts are enforceable -- would be a start.

And bringing some democracy into the workplace by letting the workers decide how and by whom they wish to be represented would be the next logical step.