Controversial Customs recruit Mrs. Sarah Pendleton will be transferred to Personnel Services, the Bermuda Public Services Association announced yesterday.

In announcing a four-point mediation plan to resolve the hiring row, the BPSA was highly critical of Collector of Customs Mr. Gerry Ardis for selecting Mrs.

Pendleton, the foreign spouse of a Bermudian.

Mr. Eugene Blakeney, the BPSA general secretary, said there were qualified Bermudians among 367 applicants for the job, and some had been deemed "over qualified.'' "The association is also troubled that the Collector saw fit to draft questions, conduct and grade the examinations, and short list the applicants himself,'' Mr. Blakeney said. "This practice is highly irregular, as human resource specialists always attempt to ensure that tests are valid and free of bias and error.'' Mr. Ardis, who has said he was acting on instructions to treat spouses of Bermudians on an equal footing with Bermudians, said Mr. Blakeney's statements were "untrue.'' "Regarding the selection process, the Customs Department worked in complete cooperation with the Department of Personnel Services,'' Mr. Ardis said. "The Collector of Customs does not do things unilaterally.'' In fact, he said, a Personnel Services officer was on the selection board, and Mr. Blakeney and "the Customs officers advising him'' knew that.

"I acted in good faith on direct and very specific instructions from the Department of Labour and Immigration and the Department of Personnel Services,'' Mr. Ardis said. "I acted in good faith, based on the premise that the information we received was correct.'' Last year, Government passed a law that it said would put spouses of Bermudians on an equal footing with Bermudians in the job market. But the Public Service Commission has not amended its regulations to comply with the law, and Labour and Home Affairs Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman has since said that private employers can not be compelled to hire spouses, either.

Customs officers threatened strike action over the hiring of Mrs. Pendleton as one of six new recruits.

The four-point plan, agreed to by the BPSA and Personnel Services in mediation with Labour Relations Officer Mr. Edwin Wilson, calls for Customs trainee posts to immediately be advertised again.

Also, "the operation and management'' of Customs will be reviewed "within one month,'' Mr. Blakeney said.

Mr. Ardis was not party to the negotiations "as the main thrust of the dispute centred on his poor managerial/interpersonal skills.'' When Mr. Ardis offered Mrs. Pendleton a contract, "it should have been clear to him that she was not being hired on a basis equal to a status-Bermudian, as all spouses in the private sector are not required to sign a contract.''