Ends do not justify means

September 29, 2003

Dear Sir,

There has been widespread incomprehension and revulsion against the tactic of the BIU to go on strike immediately after Hurricane Fabian. Almost everyone who has written to the Editor, all columnists, and everyone on the street has condemned the union as selfish, short-sighted, and anti-public spirited.

Yet none of this fazes the BIU leadership, which has made no attempt to apologise to the many Bermudians who have been exploited in their hour of need. Why?

I have often been curious as to why politicians, members of the clergy, the public, and far too many others hold unions in high esteem when they are, in effect, simply cartels with compulsory membership that exist to restrict competition in labour markets. The BIU has a well-documented history of selfishly and single-mindedly pursuing its own narrow interests, and condoning violence and extortion in order to get what it wants. Those who remember the 1981 hotel strikes will know what I am speaking about.

Many Bermudians subscribe to the following syllogism: Workers have legitimate rights that ought to be defended; unions exist to defend the rights of workers; therefore, whatever unions do in the name of defending those rights must be legitimate. While the first premise is certainly true and unions have done good work in this regard, the second is almost always false. Even if it were true, the conclusion is a non sequitur. Actions cannot be justified merely on the basis of good intentions.

The belief that labour unions have benefited workers in general at the expense of wicked Bermudian capitalists and entrepreneurs is on a par with the belief that a television physic can forecast your future or find you an attractive spouse. It is one of the great delusions of today's Bermuda.

Any elementary economics textbook will tell you that unions cannot raise the wages of their membership; the only way that can be done is for productivity to increase. Guess who is usually against any proposal to increase productivity?

In fact, the spark that created the strike was allegedly a worker who wanted to slow down productivity because workers were repairing CableVision lines too quickly. Earlier generations of Bermudians like Sir Howard Trott, William Kempe, and Sir Henry Tucker have done more to enhance the well-being of Bermudian workers than any labour union has ever done. They did this by creating well-paying jobs for all Bermudians and making it possible for everyone to widen their horizons.

Contrast this with the huge loss of jobs and opportunities for many Bermudians that has occurred over the past 20 years because of the decline in tourism, caused in large part by the obstructionist behaviour of the BIU.

The BIU does not give a tinker's cuss about other Bermudians; or for that matter its members. It is primarily an organisation established to extort money from the public and employers, and it uses its more docile and gullible membership as a tool in that exercise.

It is all about playing to the egos and granting power (and probably money) to its leadership. This behaviour is consistent with the behaviour of unions in places like UK, USA, Germany, Poland and almost everywhere else I can think of.

The main way the BIU and other unions perpetuate their power is ruthlessly exercising the legal privileges granted by government. Unions cannot be sued for the tort of conspiracy and can rarely be sued under the law on contract. To all intents and purposes they are above and beyond the law much like the warlords that plague Afghanistan.

Until their legal privileges are withdrawn, the Bermudian public will continue to experience the contempt that the union leadership has shown for fair play and the problems of fellow Bermudians in distress - many of whom are members of the BIU.

ROBERT STEWART

Smith's Parish

No sightseeing after storms

September 24, 2003

Dear Sir,

At about 8.50 p.m. on September 9, 2003 I received a telephone call from the sports/politics letter to the Editor writer Recman. During our conversation we slipped into a post-mortem on Hurricane Fabian and what positive and negative effects it has had on Bermuda, Bermudian residents and visitors alike.

We were exchanging views on the Premier's decision to return to work on Monday September 8, 2003 and whether it was a good one or not because of the ongoing clean-up, no public transportation on the roads or garbage collection,which would have been picked up from your normal drop off area.

Then it hit me like a train:

1. What if Government through legislation imposed a state of emergency or something to the effect of banning non-essential vehicles of the road to such time as it is deemed safe which would allow the clean-up crews the time and space to do their jobs fast and efficiently; or

2. Government through legislation could institute a national embodiment of able males between the ages of 16 and 45 to report to their previously assigned station/school for mandatory clean-up duty.

By law Government will have a heavy dump truck register so they can spread the trucks evenly by parish to transport debris. Now that we are asking them to volunteer, a special fuel grant should be given to them for that period.

Mr. Editor, plan number one is to keep the status quo without the hindrance of sightseeing motor traffic or we could go with plan number two. With a lot of discussion and planning I think plan number two would be better for our community.

BROWNLOW ADDERLEY

Southampton

A job well done

October 1, 2003

Dear Sir,

I am a locum Emergency Physician from Canada at the King Edward Memorial Hospital. On September 30, 2003 I was called to the scene of a tragedy at Horseshoe Beach.

An unfortunate man suffered a life ending cardiac event while swimming in the water. My most sincere condolences go out to this gentleman's family. In fact, I hope that anyone who had to witness this incident has not suffered.

In particular, I would like to single out the valiant effort made by lifeguard Russell Dyrli to resuscitate this gentleman. Understandably, Mr. Dyrli was distraught at the death of his victim. I must reassure Mr. Dyrli that his efforts were textbook and this gentleman's demise was inevitable.

I personally witnessed Mr. Dyrli devotion approximately one week ago when I was at Horseshoe Beach for some personal leisure time.

Mr. Dyrli keenly spotted from over one hundred yards a young child and mother drifting into the rocks. With fleet foot and superb swimming catastrophe was avoided. It is too often we forget the courageous efforts of those on the “front-lines”.

As a transient resident I applaud all the work of the local life guards and hope such future tragedies are few and far between.

DR. TRAVIS K. NAIRN BSc, MD, CCFP (EM), Dip Sport Med (CASM)

Paget