LONGSTANDING concerns regarding certain practices by the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) have led community activist Raymond Russell and his brother, Gary, to initiate proceedings to establish a separate trade union for hotel workers.

The Bermuda Hotel Workers Union has already been sanctioned by Government, albeit under another name, said the brothers. And, the pair said, numerous discussions with dissatisfied members of the existing union had led them to believe there was merit in creating another representative body.

"My feeling is that the hotel workers deserve their own union," said Gary. "From what I can see, and things that I've heard, the BIU is not representing the people or its workers.

"We have spoken with many of the hotel workers and I believe that many are very unhappy with the way the BIU is treating them and that once they find out about the Bermuda Hotel Workers Union, they will be willing to join."

According to the brothers, they have been well versed in the labour since birth, with their father a BIU trustee. And while Raymond has campaigned for the rights of workers for decades, his brother Gary was, for many years, a shop steward for the BIU.

He and his brother had the Managers' Association sanctioned by Government in the mid-1980s, said Raymond, after hotel workers complained that they were unable to continue working after they received their pensions.

The Association served its purpose and saw that the workers received the benefits they were after, he said, but it had not been in operation since.

"It's because of all the problems over the years, all the wrong-doings that I have seen, because of the way the BIU has treated its workers - especially its female workers - that we have decided it's time to resurrect (our union)," he said.

"More recently, I have been disgusted with the way the BIU is treating its members who are unable to work and I've been disgusted with the response that they've given (through the Mid-Ocean News for their actions)."

Raymond has threatened to sue Government, who he claims has allowed the BIU to dip into the superannuation fund to pay its running expenses and officers' salaries. In an interview with the Mid-Ocean News, Mr. Russell said that members' weekly dues had seen the fund grow to $22 million, but only $390,805 had been paid out to disabled, elderly or sick members over the last ten years as the money had been spent elsewhere. According to the laws laid out by the BIU, Mr. Russell claimed, the fund is required to pay such people benefits of either $50 per month or a lump sum of $2,000.

The claim was refuted at the time by BIU president Derrick Burgess, who said that the Union was acting as it should, that benefits had never been withheld from any of its members and that the BIU was, in fact, doing its part to help its disabled members wherever it could.

He insisted that Raymond Russell was talking under the mistaken assumption that the Union's superannuation fund was governed by the Trade Union Act of 1965. And he insisted that anyone who applied for, and was eligible to receive financial assistance from the BIU, had always received their due.

A union under their management, said the Russell brothers, would operate in a manner different to that of the BIU.

"We will assure them that officers' benefits do not exceed the benefits of the workers," said Raymond. "Under our union, they will get the benefits they are entitled to.

"Now, they're paying for benefits that they're not getting. We will adjust benefits to today's cost of living - $50 per month or a lump sum of $2,000 if you're unable to work is nowhere near enough. And our dues will be taken under a percentage system.

"There are some people who are now making $900 per week and are paying $10 in dues each week and there are others who are making $300 per week and paying the same $10 per week. We will structure it so that there is enough money to take care of people and I can assure you that our members will definitely know the benfits that we, as officers are receiving.

"Even in elections, there will be no president for life. They will have the chance to vote us out if we're not doing the job they elected us to do. At the BIU, only 30 per cent of membership votes because there are people who work at either end of the island and have difficulty making it to the headquarters to cast their ballots.

"During elections, we will hire places to make it easier for everyone to be able to vote. For a union to work, its members need caring representatives. Knowing that a great majority of people's incomes will not exceed $20,000 which causes some mothers to work two jobs and in some cases, three, I myself will sign an affidavit promising to take home no more than $55,000 a year."

Added Gary: "It will all take some time. We must first put our team together. We need people who are dedicated to the cause but I'm working on it. For now, we just want to let hotel workers know they have somewhere to come; that there is someone looking out for their interests."