Government workers who took part in last week's three-day general strike will not get paid for the time off, Cabinet Secretary John Drinkwater said yesterday.

Bermuda CableVision boss Jeremy Elmas said his workers will not get paid for striking while BTC, who were hit heavily by the strike, have already said their strikers won't be paid.

Stevedoring Services have a longstanding policy of not paying for strikes but have had to fork out $3,500 a day overtime to clear up the backlog. Bermuda Employers' Council president Eddie Saints welcomed the stand by Government and the private companies but said the situation faced by Stevedoring Services was a “bit of a slap in the face”.

He said employers and Labour Minister Randy Horton had begun discussions on whether there should be some form of personal sanction for strikers.

Workers in legally defined essential services such as Stevedoring Services and the Post Office broke the law by not issuing a 21-day strike notice after they came out in support of two workers fired by CableVision last Tuesday.

And all the workers in the Bermuda Industrial Union organised strike were breaking the law on the final day after Government had evoked the Trade Disputes Act which sets up a tribunal to arbitrate the dispute.

Mr. Saints said: “We need to put in some measure in place, maybe some form of punishments that are effective and could serve as a future deterrent. Hopefully workers will think twice. We have to bring respect back to the due process.”

He said talks were at new punishments were in preliminary stages and he had no further details.

The non-payment of Government workers contrasts with the prison officers who were paid after striking in May despite ignoring an injunction for three days.

However teachers had pay docked for strikes late last year and are pursuing the matter.

It's believed they are in correspondence with Government with the possibility of legal action not ruled out.