Disruptions at Hamilton docks are expected today after workers asked for time off to attend the funeral of a colleague.

The vast majority of Stevedoring Services staff will be taking time out to pay their last respects to long-time dockworker Stephen Leroy Dill. Mr. Dill, 59, who had worked at the docks for 40 years, was killed in a single vehicle accident in Devonshire last weekend.

The Royal Gazette understands that only a skeleton staff will be on site during the funeral service, with 57 of the company's 61 workers attending the funeral, despite management requests that only representatives attend to allow the docks to operate as normal.

The move comes just days after Tuesday's Bermuda Industrial Union meeting and rally which the majority of Stevedoring staff attended -- again in defiance of a management request that only a handful of representatives attend. The docks were forced to close for the rest of the afternoon as a result of the walkout.