One Bermuda Alliance Chairman Michael Fahy questioned how Bermuda Industrial Union has fallen so far behind in reporting its accounts after learning its finance team is paid more than $400,000 a year.“It is baffling,” said Mr Fahy, who insists the BIU needs to let its members know how much money is in the coffers.Mr Fahy says workers are concerned about the union's financial position as they prepare for a summer of potential redundancies or industrial action, during which they could need monetary help.BIU President Chris Furbert yesterday pointed to a multitude of mitigating factors, including the system crashing, for the failure to publish financial statements from 2003 to 2010, all of which were supposed to be filed by June 1 of the corresponding year according to the Trade Union Act.According to figures obtained by Mr Fahy, the BIU's financial controller is paid $100,006 per year, the accounts manager gets $89,999, four accounts administrators get an average $56,988 each; totalling $418,000 per year.Mr Fahy said in a statement: “Union salaries are a matter for the union, as far as I am concerned, but I must take note of the fact that the pay schedule shows $418,000 in union dues spent on a finance team that includes a financial controller, an accounts manager and four accounts administrators.“If this significant figure is accurate, one has to ask why the union has failed year after year to comply with its reporting obligations? It certainly can't be a manpower shortage. It is baffling.”The figures show Mr Furbert picks up $140,000, the general secretary $133,000 and three department heads $123,000 each, giving the union an annual salaries bill of $1.47 million.Mr Furbert stressed yesterday that salaries are set by the general council, which has negotiated rates over the past 40 or 50 years.“It's not like officials have been negotiating wages for themselves,” he said.In April the union was said to have submitted some books to its auditors, but they needed to then be prepared for assessment by the Registrar General; no update has been provided since then.Mr Fahy said yesterday: “Over the past few months, I have been contacted by BIU members who are very concerned about the state of the union's finances.“They are particularly worried, given the possibility layoffs and job losses this summer, that the union does not have enough money to support them.“So far, the union has kept its members in the dark about the state of its finances.“Only recently, we have been told, did the union submit the 2003 to 2009 accounts to auditors; this despite a law requiring the union to submit annual audited financial statements to the Registrar General no later than the first day of June of the following year.”Mr Fahy said the depth of the problem goes deeper given that accounts for 1999 to 2002 were rejected by the Registrar General as statutorily insufficient.“Are union members satisfied with this state of affairs? he asked.“And what is the Registrar doing about the failure to submit audited accounts on time, as required by law? Any union officers who fail to comply with the accounts requirements under the Trade Union Act commits an offence.“Beyond these concerns, one is left wondering if union members are getting value for their hard-earned union dues.“The situation has done nothing to allay worker anxieties fanned by the economic downturn and Government's massive debt situation, which has led to contract cutbacks and job losses.”Responding, Mr Furbert told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “From time to time, people fall behind in audits. Most of the time I don't think it's intentionally done.“These things happen for different reasons. As we have said, way back in 2000 we have had challenges and have been trying to play catch-up. The system crashed and we lost all our information.“The auditor was brought in, and there was a difference in opinion between ourselves, and it caused some challenges.“Hopefully over the next several weeks or several months or so, we will be able to get this done and up to date and able to file our returns on time.”Useful websites: www.oba.bm