A work to rule by prison officers disrupted court proceedings, including two murder cases, yesterday.

The Prison Officers' Association (POA) is refusing to work overtime in protest at stalled pay talks with the Department of Corrections.

The ban came into effect on Monday and meant there weren't enough officers available to escort prisoners from Westgate to court yesterday.

Among the hearings affected were those of two men charged with murdering Aquil Richardson and three men accused of murdering Matthew Clarke.

Both matters had to be postponed because they were not produced from prison.

Craig Clarke, chairman of the 220-strong prison officers' union, said talks broke down on Thursday after 16 months of negotiations.

The union rejected an eight percent final pay offer from Government, representing four percent for each of the yearly contracts under negotiation — 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.

Members voted for the work to rule at an emergency meeting on Friday.

Although the Minister of Labour has since sent the dispute to voluntary mediation, Mr. Clarke pledged yesterday that it will continue until Government comes back with a better offer.

"If Government does not want to return to the table we would have to go even further.

"That would mean issuing a 21-day strike notice. We don't think we're being unfair — we're willing to come back to the table," he said.

In the meantime, he pledged that members will meet obligations to prisoners and the public alike.

"We can assure Bermuda we will continue to ensure that safe custody and safety in custody of our inmates and staff will continue, but anything else that involves overtime we will not do," he explained.

Mr. Clarke acknowledged that there is a legal obligation to produce prisoners before the courts — but said there is no such obligation to work overtime, which is necessary when there are staff shortages due to sickness and vacation leave.

While some prisoners were transported to court from Co-Ed, a lack of personnel to escort prisoners from Westgate left dozens of lawyers, Police officers and witnesses waiting in vain at Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Among the cases affected was that of two men charged with murdering 30-year-old Aquil Richardson last Boxing Day. Antoine Herbert Anderson, 31, and Phillip Anthony Bradshaw, 26, were not produced for an administrative hearing, meaning Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo had to adjourn the matter until Thursday.

Likewise, three men charged with the murder of Matthew Clarke, found dead at his Pembroke home on April 9, were also absent from an administrative hearing. Kyle Sousa, 17, Vernon Michael Simons, 23, and Shannon Jerome Tucker, 32, must also come back to court on Thursday.

Quizzed about the disruption, Mr. Clarke said: "I can assure you that our sympathy and empathy goes out to those parents that have lost loved ones.

"It's no sign of disrespect to them, but it came at a time when we had to take action.

"If we could have produced those people without working overtime we would have produced them. We do value the life of every Bermudian and we do apologise."

However, he could not rule out similar problems today.

The POA has a series of long-standing gripes over pay and conditions including a lack of rehabilitation experts, prison officers and modern vehicles.

There is also no specialist unit to house mentally-ill inmates, something which sparked heavy criticism from the Chief Justice when he ruled in March that one such prisoner suffered unacceptable conditions as a result.

Mr. Clarke said if "other issues" were addressed, the pay offer might have been accepted.

Commissioner of Prisons Edward Lamb said that his department would liaise with the Police to secure assistance with providing escorts if necessary today, but this was not possible yesterday.

Asked for his view on the action, he replied: "Out of an abundance of prudence I shall reserve comment.

"I do however, remain optimistic that a mutually acceptable resolution will be achieved in the not-so-distant future."

Later in the day, Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing David Burch confirmed he had referred the dispute to voluntary mediation.

He commented: "The importance of the service provided by our Corrections Officers cannot be understated, and we must seek resolution without further delay.

"Along with Commissioner of Corrections, Lt. Col. Lamb, I am committed to achieving a mutually beneficial resolution to all outstanding matters."

A Bermuda Police Service spokesman said: "The operation of the Bermuda Police Service has not been affected.

"If a request for assistance is received from the Department of Corrections, the service is prepared to assist where necessary."

The action by the Prison Officers' Association comes as two other major unions are also engaged in wrangles with Government.

The Bermuda Public Services Union called off a strike threat in March, opting instead to take its pay dispute to voluntary arbitration.

Earlier this month, the Bermuda Union of Teachers dropped a threat of industrial action when Labour Minister David Burch referred complaints over staff levels to the Labour Disputes Tribunal.