The Public Transportation Board?s decision to drop a foreman?s post in the Bus Garage after bus drivers walked off the job on Monday and yesterday may well be seen as a victory for the Bermuda Industrial Union.

But serious questions must be raised about whether it was necessary for the drivers to cut service to the public in order to achieve their goal.

The wildcat strike was sparked by a dispute over the promotion of a foreman in the Bus Garage. According to the union, there were two candidates of equal stature, and on that basis, the more senior of the two should have received the appointment. Instead, the PTB opted to promote the allegedly less-experienced candidate.

The union protested, claiming the appointment was a breach of their collective bargaining agreement, and the dispute was referred to the Labour Relations Department. With the issue still unresolved, the PTB made its candidate the acting foreman, in spite of warnings from the union that this could spark industrial action.

On Monday, the action took place, with drivers going off the job at 11 a.m. and not returning to duty until 7 p.m. Further disruption occurred yesterday morning.

This action caused massive inconvenience for residents and visitors in the height of the tourism season. People of all ages were left stranded with little information and were forced to make their own way to work or home.

This was wrong. The issue could have been resolved through mediation, and if necessary through arbitration. Pulling public service employees off the job without warning can only be seen as the union using its muscle instead of relying on the merits of its case.

It is a bad sign for the future, because wildcat actions of this kind will poison relations between the union, employers and the Government. If that?s the case, Bermuda could find itself facing a return to the bad old days of constant labour strife.

To be sure, the union has a responsibility to represent its members and the most powerful weapon in its arsenal is the withdrawal of labour. But this should also be a weapon of last resort ? the equivalent of ?going nuclear?.

It is difficult to see how the current dispute can be seen as one that warranted a walk-out. It is also impossible to say how many visitors will have had their holidays disrupted by this strike.

What is certain is that some will never return while others will go home and tell their friends that they went to Bermuda, and it was beautiful, but they couldn?t go to St. George?s or the beach because there was a bus strike. Either way, it was hardly the ideal advertisement for the Island.

It does not matter how much money the Department of Tourism spends on advertising or how hard Minister Ewart Brown and his staff work if a strike, even an eight-hour one, takes place. The result will be a damaged economy, especially in tourism.

The BIU should remember that the union still has hundreds, though probably not thousands any more, of members employed in the tourism industry. Their livelihoods are now more uncertain than ever.

It may be that Government should consider making public transport services like the buses and ferries essential services where they are required to give 21 days notice before striking , since public transport is arguably essential to many people?s lives.

But that step should not be necessary. The political wing of the labour movement ? the Progressive Labour Party Government ? ought to be able to convince the trade union wing ? the BIU and other unions ? that these kinds of actions do no one any good.