Public transport schedules ground to a halt for almost three hours yesterday after Government staff attended a union meeting to discuss a new employment contract.There was standing room only at the Seventh-day Adventist Church on King Street, where hundreds of blue collar workers showed up for the 10am meeting, which was called by Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert. Bus and ferry services were cancelled from 9.30am and did not resume until staff emerged from the meeting shortly after midday.Although a vote was taken members refused to give details of any ballot, saying they had been asked by union bosses not to speak publicly about the BIU’s position.Earlier yesterday The Royal Gazette received unconfirmed reports that in order to cut its huge wage bill Government has proposed a reduction in working hours, asking employees to take one day off, unpaid, each month.However, one BIU source later scotched that report and added that the union would not issue a statement on the outcome of the meeting until unions representing other Government workers had formulated a position. The Bermuda Public Services Union, which represents Government white collar workers, will be holding an “important” emergency meeting this morning to discuss pay negotiations. The meeting will be held at the Seventh-day Adventist Youth Centre on King Street.Last night Mike Charles, General Secretary of the Bermuda Trade Union Congress (BTUC), confirmed that individual unions were now in the process of informing their memberships of the current status of negotiations — and that a unified statement under the umbrella of the BTUC would be issued once those meetings had taken place.“Government asked to meet with us as a unified body, which we have now done,” Mr Charles said.“So what’s happening now is that all the unions are meeting up individually, then will meet with us before we come out and make a statement. I think that by the end of the week those meetings probably would have finished and at that time we will be able to issue a statement on behalf of all the unions as to exactly what we have going forward.”Yesterday’s meeting came in for sharp criticism on social network sites, with commentators questioning why the BIU chose to hold the meeting — and disrupt public transport services — at a busy time of the day.But one source pointed out the unions had been urged by Government to meet with their members as quickly as possible — and that it was preferable to hold a meeting on a Monday or Tuesday when fewer cruise ships are on the Island. The mega cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway and Celebrity Cruises’ Summit liner arrive every Wednesday morning for three-day stays, flooding the Island with visitors and putting additional strain on public transport services.“All the unions have been asked to hold these meetings as quickly as possible,” the source said.“We are already months into the fiscal year and so we need to get these negotiations moving — that's why meetings are being held at short notice. I guess no time is a good time to hold a meeting, but it's important that we make progress on this and get things done so that we can move forward."