Money is not an issue in Bermuda Industrial Union opposition to Sunday hours for supermarket workers, says president Mr. Ottiwell Simmons MP.

The issue of extra pay for working on Sunday was raised when representatives of the BIU met recently with managers of the large supermarkets, Mr. Simmons told The Royal Gazette .

Mr. Simmons said union members did not want to work on Sunday under any circumstances. "Management wanted to know if the union would be interested in premium pay, and they were told there was no amount of payment that could get the union policy changed,'' he said.

The BIU has called on its members to neither work nor shop in a supermarket on Sunday.

Mr. Simmons said Sunday is a day of worship for Christians and a family day for many. "If these traditions are broken, this would be another indictment against Bermuda and a cause for further breakdown in morality,'' he said.

The MarketPlace Ltd., White & Sons Ltd., and The Supermart Ltd. last week withdrew a threat to open illegally yesterday. Instead, representatives met on Friday with Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul, who later said a compromise needed to be found and the current law changed.

Mr. Simmons said the BIU represented "a substantial portion'' of Bermuda's working population of 34,000, and he was "amazed'' Government did not consult with the union.

Two stores that have been opening on Sunday -- Harrington Hundreds in Smith's and Maximart in Somerset -- were not "mom and pop stores,'' and should not be allowed to open, either, he said.

Mr. Tredick Gorham, owner of The Supermart on Front Street, confirmed that he met on Thursday with the BIU, which represents some workers at his store.

The two sides will continue to meet, he said. "They're looking at it from one side, we're looking at it from the other.'' The MarketPlace reportedly met with its butchers on Thursday after one of them said he and other guest workers who cut meat were threatened with not having their work permits renewed unless they agreed to work on Sundays.

MarketPlace controller Mr. Scott Carswell declined to comment on the anonymous butcher's charge. Nor would he comment on criticism of large grocers on Wednesday from Community and Culture Minister the Hon. Wayne Furbert.

Mr. Furbert accused the large stores of "greed'' and trying to put small stores out of business.

Dr. Saul said opinions in the community are evenly divided on Sunday shopping, and a Chamber of Commerce survey of members on the issue came out about 50-50.