An ongoing protest being staged by several industries against Government policies will make its way through Hamilton on Friday morning.

The demonstration carries on from that held at Kindley Field last week by representatives of the Bermuda Taxi Owners and Operators Association, the Fishermen’s Association of Bermuda, Bermuda Farmers Association and some public school PTAs.

Shari Lynn-Pringle, secretary for BTOA and one of the main protest organisers, said while she hoped the event, a vehicular procession, will cause minimal disruption, there will likely be congested traffic in the city and fewer taxis available for approximately one hour.

A procession request has been approved by the Bermuda Police Service as well as Tom Oppenheim, the Deputy Governor.

It is due to begin at Elbow Beach hotel parking lot and will make three loops from Trimingham Hill roundabout to Albuoy’s Point from 10am to 11am.

Ms Pringle told The Royal Gazette: “We had a meeting on Sunday night and agreed on Friday morning for the next protest.

“It will be a procession through Hamilton and we plan to go past where MPs will be meeting at Veritas Place. This not an opportunity for politicians to have a photo op – no one in government has reached out to us so far since the last protest.

“We tried to do it so there was as little disruption as possible – we are not trying to hurt people, we just need the public to see the faces of the people who are being impacted by government inaction and indecision.

“We also want to stress we do know we have problems and are trying to fix them but that is difficult when the morale is so low.”

The taxi industry has been in long-term talks with the Government about issues including the need to increase rates that have remained stagnant for ten years and the need to create a centralised dispatch to increase efficiency.

The BTOA plans to hold a town hall meeting to discuss concerns the taxi industry has over the introduction of an Uber style ride-sharing app that has been mentioned by David Burt. The Premier said in May that the industry required a major overhaul.

Ms Pringle added: “There appeared to be an agreement in principal then the Government switched and decided they wanted to revamp the taxi industry, taking a holistic approach to modernising it. That should not tie to our increases, all we know is that what we have been requesting for two years – including a rate increase – should not be tied to them reforming transport industry.

“It is not a quid pro quo – it has to do with fixing buses and ferries. Those drivers get paid whether they have something to drive or not.”

Farmers have complained that red tape was hindering their industry, not least with restrictions on the import of plant materials.

Carlos Amaral, president of the BFA, said: “The farmers have their grievances with policy changes at Department of Environment and Natural Resources – it’s been an ongoing issue.

“There are multiple facets that concern us and unfortunately there has been a lack of traction or headway on any of them.

“The advice of the technical officers always trumps that of the professionals in the industries – that is the common problem among us – we have no say in our livelihoods.

“There have been no developments since the last protest, we have heard nothing from the Government.”

Mr Amaral said that some farmers may not be able to make the protest in person as Fridays are delivery days for most in the industry but confirmed the association was still in favour of the cause.

The main area of conflict for fishermen is with the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme's proposal to protect 20 per cent of Bermuda's waters from fishing.

Jamie Walsh, secretary of the FAB, confirmed its members will be in attendance on Friday and that there has been no communication from the Government since the last protest.

Danny Fox, the vice-president of the FAB, said: “Now that we seem to have the public’s attention, we need to outline a timeline of events that got us to this point.

“Starting with the introduction of BOPP – an MOU was signed deliberately without any consultation with stakeholders or indeed fisherman sitting on government boards who were supposed to be advisers on environmental affairs.

“The way the whole voting process in BOPP was done to establish the Marine Protected Area which I might add was done prior to any public consultation. It came out of the oven baked.

“Our attempts to go the legal route that were totally discarded and deliberately ignored.

“The list goes on but there is a story here that needs to be told so the public is made aware, not only about our 30 years of failures to implement by DENR, but the persistence of the Progressive Labour Party or Civil Service to invite these NGOs to our shores.”

Education stakeholders have also been disillusioned with the Government’s public education reform plans saying there has been a lack of meaningful consultation and school readiness.

Another protest is planned to take place in the west end of the island at a later date. The Government did not respond to questions by press time.