Disgruntled Customs officers abandoned their posts for much of yesterday to attend a union meeting ? although few major disruptions were reported at the airport or the docks.

Bermuda Public Service Union officials were tight-lipped last night as to the reasons behind the industrial action, with Assistant General Secretary Orin Simmons saying he was not at liberty to ?divulge anything? until the ?ongoing talks? with Government are concluded.

But BPSU first vice-president Alan Roberts did reveal a 21 day strike notice was issued last Thursday ? although once again he was not prepared to provide any further details.

Pressed on whether the dispute had anything to do with the rumoured reduction in overtime pay following the increased hiring of part-time staff, BPSU representatives were not prepared to comment. It is understood that all customs officers were back at work by 5 p.m, with service expected to resume as normal today, according to a Press release from the Ministry of Finance.

?Customs officers left their posts earlier today to attend a meeting to discuss internal issues,? the statement reads. ?The officers returned to their jobs late in the afternoon after airing their concerns with a senior Government Officer. In the meantime, the issues that were identified will be referred to the relevant authorities for review.?

The meeting, which began at BPSU headquarters at 11 a.m, caught Government completely off guard, with the Customs Department forced to call on the services of management staff based in Hamilton to cover the vacant posts at the airport.

But despite the inconvenience, airport General Manager Jim Howes said the day proceeded as normal, with the only hiccup involving the five-hour delay of the morning American Airlines flight to New York, because of snow and fog in the Big Apple.

Meanwhile, Customs Collector Winifred Fostine-DeSilva said the management staff had done an ?excellent job in the circumstances? ? while a visit to the airport by in the afternoon uncovered little in the way of delays or unhappy travellers.

Asked whether she knew anything about the customs officers? grievances, Ms Fostine-DeSilva said she had not been aware of any discord.

She also felt it was unlikely the dispute could have been caused by grumblings about overtime pay or part-time staff. Ms Fostine-DeSilva did volunteer: ?It would have been nice if we could have been informed earlier about this meeting. But I have no idea what the meeting was about.

?We work to union agreements as far as the payment of overtime to staff. Customs officers at the airport are paid time-and-a-half for every hour they work over 35 hours per week although they do work every other day.

?We abide by the current negotiation agreement with BPSU, which includes being paid double-time if they work on a holiday. We have not had any part time staff. The only part time staff we have hired were students.?

Bermuda Container Line and Stevedoring Services reporting virtually no disruption to their activities.