strike over profit-sharing arrangements in a new contract.

Prime Minister Erskine Sandiford intervened personally to end the dispute late on Sunday night.

The walkout, which involved thousands of workers at hotels across the island, began on Friday when the Barbados Hotel Association refused to accept a 60-40 profit split.

Its rejection occurred shortly after the Prime Minister persuaded the union to accept the 60-40 deal, the main point of debate during three days of negotiation for a new agreement.

When the dust settled at 3 a.m. yesterday, hoteliers had accepted the 60-40 split with paycap guarantees.

Mr. Mike Woolridge, operations director for the 234-room Marriott's Sam Lord's Castle, said the strike had little effect at his property, the second largest in Barbados.

"We weren't targeted,'' he told The Royal Gazette . "Only a handful of people left (to participate in the strike).'' Other on-the-scene reports yesterday said the strike varied in impact. Some hotels said as many as 85 percent of their workers walked off the job while others reported as few as 10 percent participation.

On Saturday, workers picketed in front of various hotels, but no incidents were reported.

To cover themselves, hotels hired freelance workers to replace striking workers.

The strike grew from negotiations for a new workers contract. Workers had accepted a wage freeze throughout 1993 with the expectation that a productivity bonus agreement would be reached by year-end.

However, the deadline passed without a new bonus deal. On Friday, before the strike was called, the BHA was standing by a 75-25 offer while the union had, at the prompting of the Prime Minister, agreed to a 60-40 split.

BHA president Mr. Peter Odle criticised Mr. Leroy Trotman, BWU general secretary, for calling for a strike when the tourism industry was recovering from deep recession.

But Mr. Trotman said the union had made concessions in the past, showing understanding for the rough times the hotel industry had gone through.

The Barbados hotel industry employs more than 6,000 unionised workers.