Workers axed from The Reefs say they are fed up of waiting for answers, but union bosses remain hopeful that a resolution will soon be reached.The two-week employment dispute began when three Bermudian maintenance workers were made redundant from the cash-strapped hotel without any notice.The Bermuda Industrial Union said it was unfair for the workers to be told they were out of jobs because their department was “oversized”.Union and hotel bosses have continued to hold talks but have been unable to reach an agreement with both sides refusing to back down.However, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Patrice Minors has now got involved and it is hoped that the dispute will end “later this week or early next week”.James Frey, 35, who is one of the redundant workers, said: “I really want to know what’s going on as I’ve heard nothing.“We’ve been treated very unfairly and now they expect us to keep hanging on like this.“We want answers, we want to know what’s going on”.The three workers have followed the BIU’s advice and not spend their four-week pay off given to them in lieu of being given a notice period.Mr Frey said he remained out of work but was doing “a bit of hustle work” to try to make ends meet.He added: “I don’t know how much longer things can go on like this, I’ve got bills to pay and a family to support”.A one-day strike occurred when the three full-time maintenance workers were told of their redundancies on November 7 with about 15 housekeeping staff refusing to clean hotel rooms.The workers told The Royal Gazette that they felt “used and abused” as hotel bosses labelled them as “unskilled” only about six months after they were taken on in April.The three men are also angry that they were given their marching orders while non-Bermudians continue to work in the maintenance department.The hotel’s maintenance department was made up of 11 people; six guest workers, four Bermudians and one spouse of a Bermudian.The strike action came just a couple of days after the hotel announced its plans to severely scale back its operations and close its 62 guest rooms, suites and cottages from January to March.Mr Frey hopes his tiling, masonry and plumbing skills can be put to good use during the hotel’s renovations instead of bringing in contract workers.He was among the hotel workers who recently helped The Reefs owner David Dodwell Senior transform a living area into a kitchen at his own home.BIU president Chris Furbert said negotiations were continuing and they were hopeful of finding a way forward.He said: “We’re still working on it. We’ve shared our concerns with the Minister and we’re hoping that the matter will be complete later this week or early next week”.Mr Dodwell Senior and hotel general manager Nagma Walker yesterday refused to comment.Mrs Walker previously said: “These decisions are difficult as we value our employees and their contributions. We empathise with them and are working with the Bermuda Industrial Union to assist in finding alternative employment for the three individuals”.