Government has obtained an injunction from the Chief Justice to get striking Marine and Ports staff back to work.

However Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert said the injunction was “premature”, and that union lawyers have been in court debating the injunction.

Ferry operators downed tools yesterday morning in protest at how the department has been managed in recent months. The dispute centres around an alleged failure by senior civil servants to address the deteriorating condition of the public ferry fleet.

According to Bermuda Industrial Union division head Sinclair Simmons, more than half of the Island’s ferries are currently “inoperable”.

Going back to the end of 2012, maintenance programmes have “ceased”, he said. The injunction specifically relates to those workers engaged in port and dock services including pilotage, tug and line boat operation.

It is understood that pilotage services in this area have now largely resumed, but other workers remain out.

Discussions to resolve the dispute are ongoing between representatives of the Ministry of Transport, the BIU and Ministry of Home Affairs, Workforce Development officers. Yesterday afternoon Government said: “Should those discussions not be successful then the next step is for the Minister of Home Affairs to refer the essential services dispute to arbitration.

“As regards the so called non-essential services, such as ferry operators, the Minister of Home Affairs have advised that consent has not been obtained from both parties to enable a reference to be made to arbitration under the Labour Relations Act 1975.

“Accordingly, the Minister of Home Affairs has exercised his discretion to refer the matter to arbitration under the Labour Disputes Act 1992 and has therefore issued a Labour Dispute Notice.

“Section 19 of the Labour Disputes Act 1992 is clear — that after notice is published in the (Official) Gazette, a lockout, strike or irregular industrial action short of a strike is unlawful.

“It is expected that since the Notice has been issued, all non-essential service workers should withdraw any action and return to work.”

Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy said: “We’ve only just recently dealt with industrial issues a couple of weeks ago which saw the public adversely affected due to curtailed services.

“There are collective bargaining agreements in place, as well as statutory provisions that govern dispute resolution. It is imperative that such procedures are followed.

“I shared my views regarding the importance of following the statutory framework with the Labour Advisory Council this past Friday.

“The process cannot work effectively unless and until those affected can come together in the spirit of mutual respect and collaboration.

“As it relates to this latest impasse, again, it is my hope that the parties can come together to try and find a resolution that benefits all concerned.”

Mr Furbert said he had agreed to meet with the Permanent Secretary at 5pm on Wednesday to discuss the worker’s concerns, but minutes after the meeting was scheduled to start he was warned the Minister would be seeking an injunction with the courts at 5.30pm.

As a result, the scheduled meeting did not go ahead.

“I looked at [the meeting] as an opportunity for us, the two parties, to sit down, have some discussion about sorting these issues out,” he said

“I thought that in agreeing to meet at 5pm yesterday, that is exactly what we were going to do, so I believe that the injunction that the Minister got yesterday afternoon was premature because he didn’t know what was going to come out of that meeting.”

Union lawyers were due to speak to the Marine and Ports staff yesterday afternoon about the injunction and what it means.

Asked if ferry service will resume this morning, Mr Furbert said: “I can’t tell you one way or the other. The members will meet with our lawyers this afternoon, and they will make that decision.”