Labour Minister Terry Lister has hit out at a retailer who is trying to slash wages for employees by 20 percent.

He said the store, who he refused to name, could face fines under the new Employment Act which comes fully into effect on March 1.

Mr. Lister said: "We want to ensure people respect the Act and not go against it. We have a situation right now where an employer is trying reduce wages by 20 percent because of the fall-out from September 11. You can't do that. It's ludicrous."

He said the company would be within its rights to reduce hours if it was strapped for cash because it would give employees the chance to make up for the shortfall by getting part-time jobs.

Government is now meeting the company to resolve the situation.

And Mr. Lister promised regular meetings of the Labour Advisory Council as Government tries to iron out problems with the new Employment Act.

The body, which comprises bosses and trade unions, was set up by the previous Government and most recently met on January 17 after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus under previous Labour Minister Paula Cox.

Recently Mr. Lister said employers worried that workers would take advantage of paid pregnancy leave granted under the Act by resigning from their company shortly afterwards.

And he said some employers were illegally trying to use the Act, which ensures minimum standards of employment, to reduce benefits.

Mr. Lister said he was confident that the Employment Tribunal, which will sort out disputes arising from the new law, would be in place by the deadline of March 1.

And he added that the Labour Advisory Council would iron out problems. He said: "In the short term we will continue to meet until everybody is happy with the Employment Act."

He said after that he expected meetings would be at least quarterly but more would be set up if there was a burning issue.

He stressed he was keen to ensure both unions and employers had their say.

He added: "When I walked in the door at the Ministry after being appointed last year I found the Labour Advisory committee hadn't met for some time and that concerned me. I had a chat with the various parties and found they were anxious to meet."

The news was welcomed by Bermuda Employers' Council executive director Andrea Mowbray.

She said: "It's a great improvement on over the past couple of years. We have only met something like three times since 1998."

She said quarterly meetings were a good idea but emergency meetings would be needed in crisis situations such as the recent dispute which saw 1,500 Bermuda Industrial Union members take part in a one-day strike.