It is "extremely misleading'' to suggest that some Bermudian workers feel they are being "used, abused and betrayed by employers'', Home Affairs Minister Quinton Edness said yesterday.

Mr. Edness levelled his accusation at new Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith who made the comment during her maiden labour day speech at Bernard Park last Monday.

But Ms Smith said:"It appears that Mr. Edness is reaching to find something that he can disagree with but my statements and the context in which they were made was clear.

"If anything my speech shows that employee/employer relations are good for the most part.'' In her speech, Ms Smith said sentiments expressed in letters to the editor of The Royal Gazette and on talk shows reflected a "general dissatisfaction.'' Consequently she said employers seemed to feel that Bermudian workers were neither willing or able to be the kind of employees that the work force required while "Bermudian workers seem to feel they are being used, abused and betrayed by employers''.

Ms Smith said that she listened to the radio talk shows and read the letters to the editor and these impressions were put into the speech.

"I fail to see how Mr. Edness could call my comments misleading other than to try and give it a twist in the public or to try and find something with which to disagree.'' But Mr. Edness was steadfast in his criticism and he said he did not agree with her characterisation of employer-employee relations.

"Most employers treat their employees very well,'' he said. "In most cases where employees give a fair day's work for a fair day's pay and that it the majority of the people who are working, they are treated quite well by their employer.

"There are obviously areas, and they are in the minority, where employers do exploit employees but we are trying to do something about it through the use of fairer employment practices.

"We will eventually get on top of it by law or some other method. It is extremely misleading to say that employees are being used or abused because that is not true at all. I take exception to that.''