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Firemens' standoff continues at airport

Airport and their bosses is set to continue over the weekend.Despite Labour and Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox meeting with the management from Serco Aviation Services and Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) yesterday,

Airport and their bosses is set to continue over the weekend.

Despite Labour and Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox meeting with the management from Serco Aviation Services and Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) yesterday, the row over new shift rotas is still not resolved.

BIU vice president Chris Furbert said he was unhappy with the outcome of the meeting, attended by Government's labour relations officer Glenn Fubler, and said he did not know when the matter would be sorted out.

He said: "I think we have done everything possible to resolve the matter, but we have not been able to reach a resolution.'' The Royal Gazette reported earlier this week how 12 of the 15 firefighters at the airport were refusing to work a new shift system introduced last Saturday.

They have claimed they were not given 14 days official notice of the changes, as stated they should be in their contracts, and were not given an opportunity to discuss them further.

They have refused to work the new system, going into work on their original schedules.

And the BIU has emphatically denied that the men were striking, but just sticking to their old hours.

Serco have said little all week, except claiming that some firefighters had shown a willingness to work and others an unwillingness to work.

Only those "who wanted to work'' were being used, said Richard Savard, manager of Serco.

The company has refused to pay the defiant workers, causing a further row, and last night the issue of pay was also still outstanding.

The BIU said the men had turned up for work, whether or not they were utilised was down to Serco and they should be paid.

Mr. Savard would not comment yesterday, saying nothing had changed since Monday, which angered the union representative.

"I don't know what else we can do.''