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Angry union members call for pay cut for Ministers

BIU President Chris Furbert arrives for a general meeting of the union this morning.

Angry workers today called for Government Ministers to take a salary cut following a heated meeting over pay negotiations.Numerous Bermuda Industrial Union members told The Royal Gazette they were unhappy at having the squeeze put on their pay while Cabinet members continue to take home more than $150,000.They said the union had been asked to take a wage freeze and accept straight time pay when working overtime to help Government save cash in the economic crisis.Following the four-hour meeting, which saw hundreds of members pack into St Paul's Centennial Hall, BIU president Chris Furbert said he was today going back to Government to express the workers' points of view.Mr Furbert would not confirm what Government had offered and said he was encouraged by the meeting.But throughout the morning, a succession of employees poured onto the streets to declare their anger at Government's request, some predicting a riot and others saying it was going to be “like Egypt”.One man told this newspaper: “Government wants us to freeze wages and lose overtime. The union is saying go for it, but the workers are saying, hell no.”Another said: “If I was making $150,000 a year, I could truly tell you I could save $100,000 a year and live well on the remaining $50,000.“They could then use that $100,000 to do something better with it.”And one more said: “It's always the small man who has to take the hit. The Ministers need to lead by example and take a hit themselves.”* Take part in our website's poll on Ministers' salaries.