A drastic overrun on the allocated budget for overtime in public transport has led to the severe disruption in bus routes, according to Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert.

A group of unionised drivers and mechanics met for nearly two hours yesterday at the Department of Public Transportation (DPT), but ultimately the question of whether to accept reduced overtime was not put to a vote.

“I’m sorry if I am insulting the minister or director or permanent secretary, but we can’t have a situation where the department is budgeted $150,000 for overtime for 2014-15, and eight months in they spent $1.5 million in overtime,” Mr Furbert said.

The BIU president added that mechanics are also frustrated with the bus fleet being improperly maintained, leading to breakdowns.

A small group turned out yesterday for the union meeting, which did not disrupt public transport — although cancellations today will affect three runs: the No 8 at 7.35am from Dockyard to Hamilton, the No 10 at 7.30am from St George’s to Hamilton and the 7.30am school run from St David’s to CedarBridge Academy. Some bus operators expressed anger that more members had not turned out for the meeting as a show of solidarity.

One member who stepped outside the meeting at about midday characterised the discussion as a “deadlock”.

The talk was called to address cancellations and the ban on overtime, both of which are set by DPT management.

The sticking point was whether to accept a reduced overtime when called upon to work on a day off.

Mr Furbert said he didn’t put the question to a vote because “we didn’t want to divide the membership down the middle”.

Asked if more cancellations were on the way, Mr Furbert said: “I’m hoping that the minister and Government will honour what the collective bargaining agreement says. If they need people to cover others, they need to be paid the appropriate overtime.”

Last night, a DPT statement confirmed that the ban on overtime was implemented because the budget had been exceeded.

“At the same time the DPT experienced an unprecedented high level of absenteeism due to illnesses, long term medical leave, training and vacation leave,” a spokeswoman said. “The DPT was unable to cover all of the staff shortages and experienced some delays and cancellations of bus runs. At the time the DPT proposed to pay overtime at time and a quarter but that was rejected by the union.”

According to Dan Simmons, the Director of Public Transportation, overtime cannot be paid when there is an “unprecedented large number of operators out, as we are experiencing now”.

The department was unable to cover their shifts, resulting in run cancellations, he said.

Subsequent to the bus disruptions last week, Government agreed to pay the overtime at time and a half and an offer was presented to continue paying all overtime at time and a half which the DPT union members would be required to vote on.

However, many workers remain disgruntled at being asked to work extra for time and a half instead of the mandated overtime, particularly in light of the perceived mismanagement at the department.

Divisional organiser Louis Somner said mechanics had also expressed frustration at not being allowed to do extra work on buses, leading to shortages of working vehicles.

While no vote came from yesterday’s meeting, the BIU group said it had helped defuse tensions among workers.

“There was a lot of uncertainty, a lot of unrest and the president calmed the situation,” said Glen Simmons, the BIU’s vice-president and chief shop steward.