A call for Bermudian women to have more children might have to be made if the Island is to address the issue of its ageing population.

In a remark he openly recognised was controversial Ed Ball, the general secretary of the Bermuda Public Services Union, said the question needed to be asked particularly in light of recent remarks by Japan?s Prime Minister strongly hinting that his country?s women need to have more children in order to reverse the nation?s ageing population trend.

The same dilemma is being faced by Bermuda, and Mr. Ball believes the Island needs to take a serious look at its workforce, work ethic and how it is going to deal with its ageing population as large parts of the workforce retire without enough young people to replace them job-for-job.

Citing the example of Japan?s ageing population and comments made by its PM Junichiro Koizumi widely interpreted as a call for Japan?s women to have more babies, Mr. Ball said: ?If Bermuda?s (native) population is not growing it is conceivable that Bermuda will ask its women to have more than one child.

?I realise that is controversial but Japan is doing it and it reflects on a population that is ageing.?

Without an answer to the ageing population issue he questioned if semi-professional and even manual work placements on the Island might increasingly require transient overseas workers.

And looking at the current workforce situation he said: ?We need to look at the whole question of Bermudians not wanting to work, or poor work ethic or, for whatever reason, their being denied work.

?We need to find out what is happening in the workforce. I do not think it is being seriously addressed and it is affecting the whole infrastructure of Bermuda.

?I don?t think enough is being done about work shadowing and successor-finding in the workplace. If the population is ageing then we need to find ways to get younger workers trained-up.?

As the union looks to 2006 a number of issues are high on its list to be addressed. Three of the key personnel at the BPSU have spoken to about the union?s immediate future and that of Bermuda.

Unions should have a representative in the higher echelons of politics - at least at Senate level if not higher - according to BPSU president Armell Thomas.

?I would like to see all unions, or a representative of the unions, participate in the political arena at least at Senate level,? he said.

?The unions represent a large percentage of the work force in Bermuda and should be rewarded by keeping the country functional and stable on a daily basis by having to make vital decisions.?

Mr. Thomas would like to see unions and politicians work together rather than be adversaries, and feels that having union representatives within Parliament would, at the very least, promote better understanding of how the Government works for the unions.

Bermuda Industrial Union president Derrick Burgess is currently a member of the House of Assembly, and Mr. Thomas would like to see further union involvement within the political process.

The traditional ?top down? organisation approach of the BPSU is also something Mr. Thomas said the union was seeking to change by empowering and challenging its members.

The union currently has 12 members enrolled in its ?Pathway to Leadership Program? aimed at finding leaders for tomorrow.

Addressing the under-funding of the Government Pension and investigating the state of the Bermuda Hospital Board?s pension fund are also on the union?s agenda for the coming year, as is highlighting the issue of workers being injured or suffering health problems because of unsuitable working environments and bad ergonomics.

Pensions will be an issue for 2006, agrees general secretary Mr. Ball, citing as an example IBM?s decision to cut back on continuous pensions in favour of the 401K pension system of tax deferment and savings used widely in the US.

Mr. Ball also expressed concern at the possible impact of more budget airlines coming to Bermuda and replacing major scheduled airlines, a development that has potential implications on cargo airlift to and from the Island as well as ground staff and sales staff jobs currently provided by the major airlines.

Later this month the BPSU is involved in a seminar looking at the prevalence of fraud in Bermudian society, and particularly how it effects businesses and companies.

Bermuda?s materialistic and consumer-driven society encourages people to live beyond their means and to be tempted to augment their budgets through theft said Mr. Ball, adding: ?We need to find a way to educate the community to live within their means.?

But the answer is not always this straightforward, as BPSU organiser Golinda Fox pointed out families, particularly single-parent families and those with few financial resources, sometimes resort to theft or fraud simply to get by and that could manifest itself in the theft of library books for their children to use at school or college.