Government employees who did not go to work during the protests against Pathways to Status will not be paid, according to a Cabinet Office spokeswoman.

Asked if civil servants who stayed away during the demonstrations would be paid, the spokeswoman said: “It should be clarified that the Bermuda Government has a no work/no pay policy and, as it relates to the recent demonstrations, this policy was applied. Managers within the public service have been advised that normal rules for vacation should apply and vacation must be requested and approved in advance.

“Any public officer who reported for work and worked will be paid.

“It is understood that some public officers reported to work sites but chose not to work. In those cases managers were reminded to follow the disciplinary procedure, such that any person reporting to work but refusing to work should be directed to work.

“If they failed to follow the direction from a manager, then the manager was to follow normal progressive disciplinary procedures.”

Buses, ferries and trash collection all ground to a halt on March 11 following a call for a withdrawal of labour by the People’s Campaign in protest of the Pathways to Status immigration legislation.

Demonstrations resumed on March 14 with hundreds of demonstrators surrounding the Sessions House, blocking access to the building to prevent the tabled bill from being debated. The withdrawal of labour continued until the afternoon of March 17, when the Government agreed to take the controversial legislation off the table in favour and instead adopt a staggered approach to the issue.

The Government also agreed that the Labour Advisory Council would concurrently delve into issues including amendments to work permit policies to address a living wage and training requirements for Bermudians, cracking down on business tactics that undermine Bermudian labour and working with the international business sector to provide summer job opportunities for Bermudians.