Angry cops could bring chaos to Bermuda's biggest holiday next month by staging a sick-out, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

And the May 24 Bermuda Day celebrations could be severely disrupted if Police cannot cover their normal crowd control and traffic duties in a long-running row over pay negotiations.

One Police insider said: "We can't officially strike -- but the most logical thing to do if we don't get satisfaction is to affect the May 24 celebrations.

"We've been negotiating for 19 months now without any offer to meet us half-way.'' And he warned: "We're definitely thinking about May 24 -- you can't tell other officers what to do, but we can always sick-out.

"A whole force in Canada did that just to get across their point of view -- and it did.'' Police hope work action will move Government to action The officer added that the under-strength force is already struggling to cover its commitments.

He said: "They're pulling people out of Special Branch, the National Intelligence Bureau the Marine Section and they've decimated Cycle Squad.

"They're still desperately shuffling the same deck of cards when the obvious solution is to bring people in from overseas -- but Government won't do that.'' Police officers are due to hold an emergency meeting today to discuss the deadlocked pay talks -- and the officer predicted there could be strong backing for unofficial industrial action to disrupt Bermuda Day.

The service has been offered a basic 2.98 percent pay increase -- plus a "combined allowance'' of between six and 10 percent to cover unsociable hours and the standing force rule that watches turn up 15 minutes before their shifts are due to start -- recommendations in line with a report commissioned by the previous Government.

But Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Paula Cox wants the combined allowance deal phased in over four years -- which the Police source branded as "unacceptable''.

And Government are refusing to backdate a recommendation for more annual leave to October, 1997, when the last pay deal expired, and are sticking to the line the extra days should be added on only from January this year.

The Police source added the contract row would also hit a drive to recruit more Bermudians into the service: "You can't ask Bermudians to join a force where, in two years, you can't even finish a salary negotiation.'' The officer claimed that the Home Affairs and Public Safety Ministry had not even done a proper costing of back pay and combined allowance.

He said: "We estimate what we want would cost just under $1.2 million -- in a country which showed a $21 million surplus.'' And he added: "If they're going to pay an Attorney General and a Director of Public Prosecutions well over $100,000 a year, they can afford to pay us.''