abuses allowed to go virtually unchecked, a top hotel manager claimed yesterday.

And sick leave has become a major stumbling block in negotiations for a new collective agreement with the Bermuda Industrial Union, Hotel Employers of Bermuda president Mr. Dennis Tucker said.

He told the Essential Industries Disputes Settlement Board that hoteliers wanted a means to "check and balance'' abuse, saying sick leave is considered serious misconduct and that "a lot of it is abuse''.

Under the 1991 Hobgood Award, employees are required to present medical certificates only if they call in sick on four separate occasions or if thought to be abusing sick leave by both the union and employers.

In instances of continuous sick days the employee is not required to provide certification. And in many circumstances, he said, employers become suspicious when a person regularly takes a day off each month.

"It's been very difficult to try and get union representatives to agree on abuse,'' he said. "We just want to set up some sort of parameters. We're not trying to deny anybody their rightful sick leave entitlement, we're just saying we have a right. I don't think we're being unreasonable.'' The HEB are proposing that employees provide certification where they are sick for four or more separate days each year or have taken six days of sick leave.

And if an employee is suspected of abusing leave, he may be required to bring a medical certificate for each further day of sickness or not be paid for the first two days of sick leave.

The last collective agreement between management and workers expired on May 24, 1991. The hearing into the contract dispute, chaired by Prof. Ronald Haughton, has twice been adjourned since it began in May.

Mr. Tucker said under the Hobgood Award, hotel gratuities were upped by 25 cents, 50 cents and 35 cents respectively according to the meal plan purchased by the guest.

Subsequent to the award, he said, hotels with fixed gratuities increased their rates. However, Elbow Beach hotel took a different route, choosing to provide staff with increased wages.

Mr. Tucker said while hoteliers proposed a wage freeze for 1992 and a three percent increases in 1993 and 1994, a five percent increase was given by the Hobgood Award.

And he revealed figures which showed Bermuda's Consumer Price Index consistently fell below the five percent increase awarded in subsequent months.

Mr. Tucker said hotel occupancy levels declined for all of 1992 when compared with 1991 which was itself a bad year.

He said that unlike the union's proposed contract which would expire in 1994, the HEB's proposed agreement was to last until 1995.

"We felt we could not go through this exercise again in 18 months time,'' he said. "It's not going to help our financial situation at all.'' He said there was "no way'' hotels could live with a five percent increase in 1992 and that they were finding it harder to borrow funding and even harder to pay loans back.

"The only way we are going to survive at this stage is if we can find a way to contain and freeze our costs,'' Mr. Tucker said. "It's an absolute necessity for the survival of the Island -- for the survival of the Island and the workers on a long term basis.''