Union leader Edward Ball, Jr. has urged Bermuda College to refer the simmering row over the firing of lecturer Sean O?Connell to arbitration.

The Bermuda Public Services Union general secretary refuted College president Michael Orenduff?s position that the collective bargaining agreement procedure had been exhausted.

Mr. Ball said the Employment Act 2000 allowed the case to go to arbitration and that the law took precedence over the agreement, unless the agreement offered more rights to workers.

He said College presidents in the past had been happy to refer cases to arbitration.

Dr. O?Connell, a maths lecturer who had done 29 years service at the College, was fired last summer over allegations he had made racist remarks ? something which he denies.

Mr. Ball said all was not well at the College because of the management.

He said: ?There have been a number of issues at Bermuda College which have not been viewed by staff as building morale and building solidarity as evidenced by some of the decisions made by the board or the president.

?It?s a tertiary institution, as a result it must be seen as one step above areas it teaches in human relations, business ethics and the like but it isn?t. It should practice what it teaches.?

Dr. Orenduff did not return a call from .

Bermuda College Board chairman Raymond Tannock said he did not want to comment about the Dr. O?Connell situation at the moment but said it would be reviewed at the next board meeting at the end of the month.

The College has been at the centre of numerous, high profile race rows over the last few years.

In 1999 vice president for Academic Affairs Donald Peters was given a severe reprimand after issuing a memo to certain colleagues alleging another member of staff was a racist and white supremacist in the way she approached College reorganisation.

He left the following year before his contract was up with a $85,000 pay off after the affair affected staff morale.

Asked about continuing problems, Sen. Tannock said: ?We have spent the last year or so revamping what the College is and its definition as a community college.

?We have spent the better part of the last year trying to ensure that members of staff are involved in the process.

?We are making great strides in making sure the College is accountable both financially and academically. I believe we are moving in the right direction.

?We can?t change the staff 100 percent and say we are putting new people in. We have to encourage people to change and work with one another.

?This is Bermuda and race is a part of our lives. I believe the board have been able to manage all the situations fairly and equitably in the past year and a half to two years.?

He revealed the board has a short list of three candidates to replace Dr. Orenduff who is leaving in the summer.

?We are in the process of evaluating the final applications and will have a decision at the end of next week. We are very close.?

He would not say whether all the candidates were local.

Asked about Dr. Orenduff?s performance he said: ?(He) has done a good job in helping to refocus ourselves from a university to a community college, he?s left the groundwork.

?He?s a very good man when it comes to change and that?s what?s happened. It?s very difficult moving people from one way to another. Bermuda College is now different.

?He?s done a good job for us, he?s going into retirement, we are quite happy with that.?