A “wholesale rewrite” of labour relations is on the cards, Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy signalled last night.

Speaking after meeting BIU leader Chris Furbert in the wake of the ferry strike on Thursday that crippled services for part of the day, a spokeswoman for Mr Fahy said: “The events over the past few days indicate that the current legislation for dealing with labour disputes is not as effective as it should be and it is hoped that a model following International Labour Organisation principles will change the way in which disputes are handled.”

The spokeswoman added: “The Minister expressed his concerns at the disruption to the transportation services and the concerns that workers downed tools without notice.

And she said that the Minister had also reminded Mr Furbert of the legislation at present going through Parliament aimed at making public transport an essential service and banning wildcat industrial action.

The spokeswoman said Mr Furbert had “accepted that the actions taken by the Marine and Ports Services workers was premature and committed to ensuring better dialogue between senior civil servants and union representatives before any form of industrial action was taken.

“It was accepted that in respect of the Department of Public Transportation issues Government could have done more to prevent such actions, but the staff at Marine and Ports should not have downed tools.”

The two met after morning ferries on Thursday were cancelled, leaving hundreds of residents and tourists stranded.

The dispute flared up because staff believed their division leader Sinclair Samuels was faced with a “stage four” warning, which would lead to suspension or dismissal, over his involvement in a workplace incident.

But Mr Furbert said once workers were told that no final decision had been made over Mr Samuels they returned to work.