Both sides were claiming victory following last week’s Supreme Court ruling on a labour dispute between fast-food franchise KFC Bermuda and the Bermuda Industrial Union, but the final outcome may be that no-one wins.News that the row will be overseen by an independent panel that ultimately has no teeth, could mean the long-standing and bad-tempered disagreement “will drag on without a solution” according to the Bermuda Employers’ Council.Last week Chief Justice Ian Kawaley ruled that former Economy Minister Patrice Minors did not act beyond her authority in ordering the dispute to be sent to an arbitration panel — an order that restaurant management had opposed.But the Chief Justice also ruled against the Minister when he emphasised that the tribunal would not be binding and could only “encourage and recommend” ways for the dispute to be resolved.Minister Minors had laid out terms of reference for the three-man panel to consider and also ordered that their decisions be binding.The row erupted in 2011 after the Queen Street eatery informed staff that it wished to renegotiate its three-year-old collective bargaining agreement.Negotiations between the company and staff broke down and the BIU, which represents some employees, called for a boycott of the restaurant.The matter was eventually referred to arbitration by Minister Minors in May 2012, a decision that KFCB tried to block on the grounds that it infringed on its property rights to “negotiate freely” with workers.Although that argument was rejected by Mr Justice Kawaley, the major obstruction to the firm’s objection to arbitration — that any decision of a tribunal be binding — was also removed by last week’s judgement, leaving both sides to claim victory.Yesterday, the BEC said the ruling clarified labour relations laws and would therefore be helpful in settling further disputes.But it also warned that the ruling could leave both parties locked in positions from which a compromise was impossible to reach — an impasse that could force the company to shut down.“The court ruling means the tribunal cannot impose a solution for a future agreement, but of course it can make recommendations that the parties might be able to live with,” BEC President Keith Jensen noted.“The best outcome from a practical point of view is that the tribunal will have the wisdom of Solomon to find common ground on issues which the union and employer have been arguing since 2011.“The worst outcome is that the problem drags on between the two parties without a solution.“The union continues to be the bargaining agent for the staff and it does not want to reduce the staff’s collective bargaining package.“On the other hand, the company is seeking to reduce its costs to survive in this prolonged recession.“Depending upon the recommendations of the tribunal, economic reality may mean the end of a business and then no-one wins.“Overall, the court’s decision has clarified aspects of the Labour Relations Act, reset the working rules and clarified the relationship of collective agreement with statements of employment under The Employment Act. The comments in the judgment in this regard is helpful to labour/ management relations.”Following the ruling, which came after days of lengthy legal arguments during a hearing in February, KFC Bermuda has maintained that it is satisfied with the decision.“The court’s ruling effectively leaves the parties back in the position they were in a year ago, namely in need of reaching an agreement via good faith negotiation in order to bring closure to outstanding disagreements,” KFC director Jason Benevides said.