It may be that Bermudians marked Labour Day on Monday much as they have in recent years, by hitting the beach, holding "end of summer" barbecues or getting their children ready for another school year.

Where they probably weren't was at the Labour Day march or the speeches that traditionally follow it.

Members of the labour movement lament this, and with some justice. The day is a chance to thank and praise the people who did the hard work of establishing workers' rights in Bermuda, for the unions to show their solidarity, and also to remind the powers that be of the muscle of the labour movement.

On the other hand, dwindling attendance can also be seen as a symbol of the movement's success. Employees' rights are now so enshrined, both in collective agreements and in the law that the kinds of protests and labour withdrawals that have marked the unions' histories are no longer necessary.

Indeed, the passage of the Employment Act marks, to some extent, the redundancy of the unions. While there will always be negotiations about rates of pay and increased benefits, every worker in Bermuda essentially has a non-negotiable bill of rights.

That's not entirely good in that it reduces the flexibility of employers' to remain competitive and cannot take into account other forms of rewarding employees, either through remuneration or other rewards.

But on balance, the Employment Act, by codifying employment standards, puts everyone on the same page, and that's useful.

However, employers and employees still have to communicate and work together. And they have to remember that employment is not a right or something to be abused, but a contract.

The recent furore over pension payments is a case in point. Employers cannot neglect their lawful responsibilities to their employees and must honour their commitments. When they don't, they should feel the full force of the law.

At the same time, employees need to honour their obligations, primarily to give an honest day's work for an honest day's pay.

What would be welcome in the future would be to see employers find new (or rediscover old) ways of making their employees feel that they have a stake in the success of their companies. This can be done by enabling employees to purchase shares, by introducing profit-sharing and by encouraging input and new ideas.

At the same time, employees should recognise, especially in this "new economy" age that the businesses that will survive and thrive are those that are flexible and efficient enough to compete in a global market.

Bermuda has some tangible advantages in this market, notably geography and infrastructure, and some intangible ones ? notably a fierce entrepreneurial spirit, at least when it is set free from the strictures of bureaucracy and outmoded traditions.

It also has some disadvantages, most notably high structural costs. That's why flexibility and the elimination of the phrase "that's not my job" from the vocabulary have to happen.

But that's much more easily accomplished when the employee can see some reward at the end of the year for being flexible ? like a share of the profits, as long as there is a recognition that when there are no profits, there's nothing to share.