Parents were unsure whether to send their children to school yesterday morning as the scope of last-minute industrial action remained unclear.

Ferries, buses, trash collection and the docks were mainly out of service as a result of the island-wide work stoppage called by the People’s Campaign.

It wasn’t until about 9am that education minister Wayne Scott told The Royal Gazette: “It looks like all schools are functioning as normal at this point”.

Brad Tatem, a parent of two children attending Gilbert Institute first heard about the potential for industrial action in the morning but did not know whether it affected the schools so he drove them in to check.

“When I arrived at 8.20am there was a lady there saying there were no teachers at the school so I took them back home.

“I double checked the news online and saw that the education minister had said schools were operating as normal.

“I tried to call back but the lines were busy so I just drove them back to school and it was open. There must have been some kind of miscommunication.

“It was inconvenient I was over an hour late for work.”

Principal at the school Coraleta Dill said: “There was a lot of confusion this morning as some parents weren’t sure if we were open so we got some calls. For the most part the teachers were here. I know some children are away because the buses were cancelled and they couldn’t get to school. There was some disruption but nothing major.”

Gina Davis, Director for Instruction and Staff Development at CedarBridge Academy, said attendance figures were down: “We put a message on our Facebook page this morning to tell parents that we are open and if students cannot make it in to call or e-mail. I know there are about 200 children in today, usually there are 500 students.”

PTA president at Prospect Primary School, Freedom Charles said the action had little effect on the school. “Everything ran smoothly,” she said.