The Island’s courts have refused to grant a permanent injunction against walkouts by members of the Bermuda Trade Union Congress.

However, unions acted unlawfully in a mass walkout a year ago during a standoff with the Bermuda Government.

According to a statement issued by the BTUC, Ian Kawaley, the Chief Justice, also described correspondence sent to the unions calling for a decision on continued furlough days as “provocative”.

That letter from Bob Richards, the Minister of Finance, was “one of the most explosive pieces of correspondence in the history of industrial relations in Bermuda”, the statement added.

The letter sent on January 23, 2015, in which the Bermuda Government kept public sector furlough days as a cost-saving resort, sparked days of marches by unionised workers.

Dr Justice Kawaley ruled that employers, including the Government, are “required to respect the right of trade unions to represent their members and to deal with the unions in good faith, in a non-provocative manner”, the statement said.

However, the Chief Justice also found that the unions did not act lawfully in walking off the job.

Dr Justice Kawaley also wrote in his judgment: “It is difficult to avoid the suspicion that the Unions were, to some extent at least, secretly delighted to seize on the January 23, 2015 letter as the perfect tool to motivate public officers to display a massive show of impromptu support. It was in one sense a belated Christmas gift from the Government.”

A temporary injunction on walkouts has been in place since last year.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Home Affairs released the following statement this afternoon:

“Today the Chief Justice issued his ruling in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v BIU, BPSU, BUT, Prison Officers Association and Fire Officers Association. Members of the public will recall that these proceedings were brought about by Government when the Bermuda Trade Union Congress called on public sector workers to leave their workplaces and attend Cabinet Office grounds for three days in January 2015. They did so in response to Government’s request of the Unions to extend the agreement on furloughs.

“The Chief Justice today made the following declarations —

1. THAT the [BIU, the BPSU and the Fire Officers Association], as regards their divisions or units which are essential services, on or about January 28, 2015, acted unlawfully, contrary to section 9(1) of the Labour Relations Act 1975, in taking irregular industrial action short of a strike;

2. THAT the [BIU, the BPSU and the BUT] acted unlawfully, contrary to section 19 of the Labour Disputes Act 1992, in taking irregular action short of a strike.

“In summary, the court declared that these public sector unions acted unlawfully during the events of 26 — 28 January 2015. Although the Government’s application for a permanent injunction was not granted, the court was clear that Bermuda’s labour legislation provides requirements that must be met by public sector unions before a strike will be legal.

“The Chief Justice said that, “the war against a public debt crisis which could, if not addressed, ultimately transfer control of the country’s finances to its lenders, remained to be fought.” This case has long been made by the Minister of Finance.

“The Chief Justice concluded that all parties should take this case as an opportunity to engage collaboratively going forward.

“The Minister of Home Affairs Sen. the Hon. Michael Fahy JP, upon learning of the decision said, “The Government agrees that this represents an opportunity to create better relationships with the Unions and looks forward to engaging with them to build on previous collaborative efforts in order to deal effectively with our public debt crisis through prudent fiscal measures and sustainable public sector finances.”