disaster according to Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan .

Sir John made an impassioned plea to all parties in the dispute "to get back to the negotiating table,'' during a speech in the House of Assembly yesterday.

He called on workers to demand that their union bosses and managers get together to resolve the dispute.

The Premier said the strike could already have done untold damage to the tourism industry, which was just beginning to pick up after the recession.

Sir John said: "Even if it is a short term strike it could have deep and far-reaching effects on the economy.'' The Premier stressed that Americans who make up a large majority of visitors to the Island would be loath to make long term plans if there were concerns of industrial unrest on the Island.

And he said there was more and more violent crime on the Island, associated with economic hardship.

United Bermuda Party backbenchers also condemned the strike, saying it could cripple the weak tourism industry.

Government backbencher and owner of the Reefs Hotel, Mr. David Dodwell had earlier warned that phone calls were already coming in from the United States where concerned travel agents were trying to assess the situation.

He said: "Speaking as a Parliamentarian I can only appeal to the country to bring us back from the precipice.

"Our future depends on Tourism. If the taps are turned off they cannot be turned on with the same pressure.'' Mrs. Grace Bell (UBP) said: "We are facing a bleak week. Phones in this country are ringing from the United States. They are saying `Oh no, Bermudians have gone mad one more time'.

"I think it is time that the union introduced a better voting system instead of allowing 300 people to make decisions for 3,000 workers.'' Dr. David Dyer (UBP) added: "Surely there can be no winners in a situation like this. Reason and logic has to be primary and explored before embarking on this type of action before ruining an already troubled and already damaged tourist industry.

"We know everyone has a right to withhold their labour but they also need to be considerate of the timing.

"We have no monopoly on getting tourists here. They have chosen Bermuda and they expect to be given what they have paid for.'' The Premier said few people had come out of the recent recession unscathed and some businesses will remain scarred for generations.

"A lot of people were hurt and hurt much more than some people understand.

People out there incurred debt through getting mortgages on their home, educating their children and buying insurance.

"Many spent money to go on vacation and escape this Island which has the second highest population density in the world. Some people will find it difficult to recover from their debts in their lifetime.'' But he added that there has been a steady improvement since the end of the recession, highlighted by a drop in unemployment.

But the strike may ruin all this, he said: "My fear is that the news has already hit North America. When the cancellations start it will be very hard to throw the switch back on.

"This strike has nothing to do with the tourists who have had to get the money for their holidays and time off work for their vacation.

"It has nothing to do with the tourist. It will have disturbed him. And he will take it back to his community. Our catchment area is not unlimited and this will affect it.'' Sir John appealed to the hotel workers, managers and unions to get together to end the strike.

He said: "I hope the industry will find an answer and find it soon. The consequences of not finding a solution are going to be grave and devastating for Bermuda as a whole and individuals in this Country.

"We could find ourselves creating a recession for ourselves. That is how delicate our society is at the moment.''