Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Joanne MacPhee has been sacked after attacking unionised workers who were marching in support of sacked colleagues.

Mrs MacPhee, was on the balcony of a Front Street building when she witnessed the march by scores of Bermuda Industrial Union members on Wednesday afternoon. The workers were protesting the sacking of ten Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel staff who were made redundant two weeks ago.

Mrs MacPhee is said to have urged the passing marchers to get back to work, telling them they were fortunate to have jobs. That prompted an angry reaction from some union members, who had to be restrained by BIU President Chris Furbert. Mr Furbert later condemned Ms MacPhee’s behaviour, claiming it could have resulted in a riot.

Although Mrs MacPhee moved quickly to apologise publicly for the incident — she conducted a radio interview and issued a statement to the media admitting she had made an “inappropriate decision” — the Chamber of Commerce this afternoon voted to dismiss her.

In a statement, Chamber of Commerce president Ronnie Viera said: “Following a meeting of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce Board, the decision was made to terminate Mrs Joanne MacPhee as Executive Director effective immediately.

“Employee benefits such as health insurance and coverage in the Employee Assistance Programme will be offered to Mrs MacPhee for a period following her termination.

“The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce wishes to assure our membership that all of the Chamber’s programmes will continue as planned as we continue to support local business development initiatives. We will begin the search for a suitable replacement as soon as possible.”

This afternoon Mrs MacPhee said she was “absolutely gutted” by the decision.

But she also thanked Mr Furbert and the BIU membership for accepting her apology.

“Not surprisingly I am absolutely gutted by the Chamber Board’s vote of no confidence, especially when you take into consideration my considerable contribution to the Chamber and the membership over the past two and a half years,” Mrs MacPhee said.

“There is just so much more to be done at the Chamber and I genuinely feel bad not being able to at the very least transition someone else into the position.

“My thanks go out to all the members who supported my efforts during my tenure; I wish them and the entire business community the very best during this time of critical recovery.

“On a personal note I would like to thank Mr. Chris Furbert and the Board of the BIU for accepting my apology and being so gracious in understanding that underneath the title I was nothing but human. I expressed to the BIU my hope that something positive can come out of all this, and I look forward to finding a way to make that happen.”

Informed of the news, Mr Furbert expressed some sympathy for the executive.

“My opinion is still that she should not have lost her job, although I understand that what happened was serious — extremely serious — and as someone who has a position like Ms McPhee had, you will be held accountable for your actions,” he said.

Mrs MacPhee joined the Chamber of Commerce in 2011 after a long career in advertising and public relations.