THE Bermuda Industrial Union is not living up to its obligations - leaving disabled, elderly and sick members to fend for themselves in times of financial hardship, disillusioned members have complained.

These allegations were firmly denied yesterday by BIU president Derrick Burgess, who said that the Union was acting as it should.

"We have never withheld benefits from any of our members," he said. "Anyone who qualifies for our benefits receives them."

Ms Sylvia Donville, who has a severe heart condition, said she was barely surviving on financial assistance from the Government after she was made redundant from her job in the housekeeping department of Sonesta Beach Hotel last year.

"I was sick and the doctor sent me to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, for an operation. I had a doctor's letter but when I returned home in December, the hotel said that I was no longer needed, that I would no longer be covered by their insurance and that I should get HIP. I received nothing from the hotel although I had worked there for 16 years. When I was sick, the Union gave me $115.20 a week for six weeks and so I called (BIU general secretary) Molly Burgess to see if I could get some more assistance, but when I finally spoke with her, she said that the superannuation fund was only for those without a hotel pension.

"I don't have a pension. All I got from Sonesta was holiday pay for the two weeks I'd been off sick, and $500. The BIU has taken money from me faithfully, but they don't care whether I have received my redundancy payment or not. I've tried calling Molly Burgess back and have left messages but have never heard from her."

The 50-year-old is forced to live in a tiny upstairs apartment off Union Street despite the fact that the doctor has warned her that climbing stairs will affect the quality of her life. With no family to aid her financially, she said she had no choice but to remain there.

"I am now on financial assistance. There should be something set aside so that people can get help from the Union. I had to keep working, although the doctor warned me a long time ago that I should stop, because I had no one to help me out.

"The management at the Union doesn't worry about the individuals, they're getting their (money). I had to keep working because if I didn't, I would have had no money coming in and I had to support my daughter and granddaughter.

"I would like for the Union to do their job. I would like for the hotel to treat me like they have treated most people and give me a retirement package due to the number of years I was up there."

BIU president Derrick Burgess said that the Union was doing its part to help members in need. What was at issue, he said, was the mistaken assumption that the Union's superannuation fund was governed by the Trade Union Act of 1965.

However, he insisted, anyone who applied for and was eligible to receive financial assistance from the BIU, received their due.

"In order to receive any superannuation benefits," he said, "first of all, the member must apply and they do receive benefits if they qualify. In order to qualify, they must be 65 years old, they must not be gainfully employed and they must be a member in good financial standing with the BIU of not less than ten consecutive years prior to the application.

"Any member who receives pension coverage from their employer and who also receives social security is not eligible. If they only receive social security payments, they shall be considered under this plan.

"Anyone who qualifies for benefits receives them. It's not in our interest to hold anyone's benefits against them. The Union, just like any other company that has a superannuation fund, is not governed by that law. That law only applies to the Government fund."

Community activist Raymond Russell has threatened to sue Government, claiming successive United Bermuda Party and Progressive Labour Party Cabinets have 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 persons benefits of either $50 per month or a lump sum of $2,000.

"That law was set up in 1965," he said. "Even if (the BIU adhered to those payments), it still wouldn't be enough. The cost of living has skyrocketed since then. What's unfortunate is that the majority of the people who are suffering financially, have little or no educational background.

"They are too frightened to ask questions. They don't know what to ask and they don't know what their benefits should be. The cruel, inhuman way they have treated these people is upsetting. particularly as it's women who made the Union strong.

"In the case of Sylvia Donville, the BIU should have discussed her case with the hotel. Most people when they retire, they receive retirement pay. Here's a person who could have used that but didn't receive anything because there was no representation on her behalf.

"That organisation has no heart at all. The minute something happens to you, they should come to your assistance. They should have gone to the hotel to discuss Sylvia's case. I have come to accept the fact that we're dealing with some evil and wicked people.

"This is not an isolated case, what's going on. The BIU is not adhering to the law of the land and they have been allowed to get away with it under successive Governments."

A second woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that like Ms Donville, she went to the BIU for assistance after an injury to her spine prevented her from working, and like Ms Donville, she received nothing.

"Anybody can say I care," the 56-year-old said, "but to really act on it is another thing. The majority of the people in the Union who are in a position to make rules to help people really don't care. I had to give up my apartment and move in with family.

"Without my family it would be even worse. I'd have nowhere to live. Every time I've called, the typical response has been, 'I haven't had time to look into that' or 'I've been busy doing other things'.

"Two years ago I had a fall which made it unable for me to work. I was working in the housekeeping department and I slipped and injured my spine and am having an awful time with it.

"I went to the Union and there was no one to suggest that they have a fund that should be dispersed to us who are injured on the job or injured period. A little bird told me one day that there was a superannuation fund and I have been talking with the Union but nothing has surfaced.

"I do have a doctor's certificate which states that I cannot work but they never mentioned anything in any of my meetings with them. They also offer legal aid, but there's been no mention of that either.

"I have suffered and I am suffering so much. They should be doing something for me not to mention those who have died and gone on without even receiving a wreath."

A third woman, who lost her arm and a leg through a bike accident in 1967, said that the Union's dues were faithfully deducted from her paycheque for 29 years while she was employed at a local hotel, but when she went to them for assistance, Molly Burgess directed her to Government's financial assistance programme.

"I had no money. I had to move out of my house, and when I went to the BIU, they said they couldn't help me. I got nothing from them. Molly Burgess said what the hotel was giving me was enough. The $10 I paid the BIU every week was supposed to be set aside for things like this - for when you are made redundant, for when you are injured or unable to work.

"It's their job to see that these funds are applied and I got nothing. When I asked Molly Burgess about the superannuation fund, I was told there was no such fund. The last time I checked with them was a couple years ago.

"I am now surviving on financial assistance from the Government. They should be paying me either $50 per month or a lump sum of $2,000. It's a little bit but even that would help.

"I have called asking for jobs," the 50-year-old said, "but once (potential employers) learn of my disabilities, they don't want to hire me. They tell me I should be realistic. There are others who are in worse situations than I am.

"They have to keep working despite the fact that they are in pain every day because of back problems or leg problems, because they have to support their children and their children's children.

"I just want the BIU to do what is right. Not only by me but everybody else that donated the $10 per week in union dues. Where has all the money gone? It certainly hasn't come to me. When the hotel was slow, I never went to the BIU asking for money.

"I went to Chris Furbert for help and he told me to go to financial assistance. He said that they don't have an account like that. After (the September 11 tragedy), they said they would help out hotel workers because there weren't any tourists.

"But what about people like me? What about someone like me who isn't working at all? Someone like me is going to have it more difficult than anybody else."

When contacted yesterday, Derrick Burgess said: "Chris Furbert has said that no one has ever (asked him about the superannuation fund) and although Molly Burgess is not here, I can assure you that if anyone spoke with her, Molly would have explained what (it to them).

"If they were entitled to anything, Molly Burgess especially, would have seen that they got it because she has such a big heart.

"Mr. Russell has had something against this Union for over 20 years. I don't know why he continues to mislead the public about the BIU. We do not withhold benefits from anyone who applies and is eligible. Our policy has been in existence for some years and we cannot change it."

Said Mr. Russell: "The question must be asked, 'Are the statutory principles that are governed by the Trade Union Act of 1965 legal or not'? The BIU is obliged to pay these women by law. If the whole of the Union said they didn't want the superannuation fund they couldn't get rid of it unless (the Act) was first changed by law. The BIU should be coming to these people once they knew they were unable to work, not the other way around."