because of overseas competition. People with "suitcase'' operations arrive in Bermuda and take business away with them. Local companies too often have their printing done overseas because it can be less expensive.

Why is it less expensive? Because local printers have well paid unionised employees, pay duty like everyone else on the equipment and material they import, pay Bermudian taxes and hospital levy and insurance. Many printers overseas do not have union shops and pay minimum wage. They pay less taxes and the materials they print are often allowed into Bermuda duty free.

That is all a fact of life yet the local printers go on producing high quality printing and searching for sales. The sales plea most often made to the "big boys'' is to support local industry, local jobs, and businesses which pay taxes to the local economy rather than support an overseas economy. Most local printers are still in business but the general industry is troubled and there are fears that further loss of business will result in closures and a loss of jobs for Bermudians in the printing trade who will find it difficult to get employment elsewhere.

That being the case, we have received a number of letters to the Editor from readers who complain that the Progressive Labour Party had its two major pieces of election literature printed abroad, their long-awaited election manifesto and the colourful "A New Bermuda'' poster with pictures of their 34 candidates which was circulated in this newspaper.

They were printed by ABC Printing but there is no indication on the material as to where ABC Printing is located. It is our understanding of the Printed Publications Act that material of this sort should say where it is published as well as by whom. The manifesto as a "booklet'' came in duty free but the PLP will have had to pay duty on the poster.

Be that all as it may, and members of the public can judge for themselves, our concern is that the PLP has deprived Bermudian business and Bermudian workers of the printing work. Their answer will probably be that it is less expensive to print overseas. But that is not a satisfactory answer for a labour party which supports local labour. A fair number of local businesses agree to have such things as their annual reports printed locally, despite higher costs, when it is put to them that printing in Bermuda supports local business and local jobs. They accept that they should do so because local businesses and local workers support them.

Does the PLP not care about local regulations and local workers? Did the PLP forget that it is supported by local unions? Did they hire people to do their publicity who did not understand the significance of supporting local manufacturing? In past elections it has been clear that the PLP has been strapped for cash and has had to curtail its advertising and promotion. That does not seem to be true in any way in this election. This time the PLP has found the cash. That being the case we find it difficult to believe that a labour party could not have found the extra dollars needed to support a local printer with unionised labour. We do not know where ABC Printing is because the PLP has not told us, but there is a very good chance that they are not even a union shop.