The Corporation of Hamilton hopes to resolve a dispute over whether the Bermuda Industrial Union should represent its workers without the need for court action.

Workers voted by 39 to 37 last November in favour of the BIU representing them but the Corporation lodged complaints about the ballot with the Ministry of Labour.

In January, the Ministry told both parties that the vote was valid and accepted the BIU as the sole bargaining agent for the workers, but the Corporation is seeking a Supreme Court review of that decision.

Previous Mayor of Hamilton Lawson Mapp claimed in an interview with this newspaper last December that BIU officials entered onto Corporation property and intimidated workers prior to the vote. The Royal Gazette understands that one of the other grounds for the complaint was a dispute over a Labour Relations Officer's mistaken original verdict that the union had lost the ballot, which was later reversed by the Labour Department.

This week, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs Robert Horton said that no date had yet been fixed for the Supreme Court review and it was his understanding that the Corporation was looking for a resolution that would not require the court's intervention.

Confirming this, Mayor of Hamilton Jay Bluck said: "We would much prefer to do that, but if necessary we will go to court. What we feel is that the process from beginning to end was not done properly and we feel it should be reviewed. The Labour Department did certain things that we don't think they should have done."

The BIU is currently barred by an injunction from representing Corporation workers until the matter is resolved, and BIU President Chris Furbert has previously told The Royal Gazette: "It's a sad day when employers go to lawyers to stop employees being represented."

However, Mr. Bluck said: "We have no dispute with the BIU at all. Chris Furbert has been extremely helpful to us and we appreciate his work on a number of issues. "

Mr. Furbert said of the attempt to reach an out of court resolution: "What's sad is the amount of time it's taken to resolve this. We are now nearly ten months down the road from the vote. The workers are waiting for representation and have been unable to get it."