For the first time in months, Bermuda’s supply chain can breathe. Last night, dock-workers voted to end the Bermuda Industrial Union’s overtime ban — breaking a deadlock that has held imports hostage, inflated grocery bills and turned the docks into a stage for union politics. The vote is more than a workplace decision; it is a public declaration that the island’s lifeline should never again be used as a bargaining chip for one man’s personal fight.

Last night’s result is a clear rejection of president Chris Furbert Sr’s five-year-old grievance over his son’s dismissal and a decisive step towards protecting every Bermudian household from higher food prices.

It is worth remembering how we got here. When the ban was first imposed this summer, several dock-workers told Bermuda Broadcasting Company and us that the vote was neither secret nor properly attended, and that they felt intimidated by union leadership. The claims were serious enough that Bermuda Broadcasting blurred workers’ faces on camera to protect them from retaliation. The next day, BIU leaders tried to play down the allegations, but the footage is unambiguous — workers on tape described a process that was neither free nor fair.

In the run-up to last night’s vote, history repeated itself. The ballot, initially scheduled for Wednesday, was delayed after union leadership appeared to lack the numbers. Over the following days, the BIU maintained a heavy presence around the docks, staged a press conference and worked the yard to rally support. Yet despite the pressure, rank-and-file stevedores rejected the tactic.

They voted for their families, not for a blockade that raised costs for every household while suppressing their own overtime pay. They voted to move cargo, not to prolong delays that choke perishables, shorten shelf life and drive up grocery bills. The BIU’s attempt to turn a personal grievance into national hostage-taking has failed.

Now, the Government must ensure this never happens again. The docks must be treated as an essential service, with enforceable minimum service levels so that food, medicine and other essentials are discharged without delay — regardless of labour disputes, weather or equipment failure. Stevedoring Services Ltd must fix its broken cranes and equipment, and get into genuine talks with its workforce to heal internal divisions.

The Government must also clean up its own house. HM Customs should stop processing many tens of thousands of paper invoices by hand each year and move to a fully digital system. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources should be dismantled in its existing form. It enforces outdated embargoes and food restrictions — such as bans on certain bananas, citrus, corn, carrots, milk and more — under 1930s-era legislation. This forces importers to duplicate inspections and paperwork already completed by trusted agencies like the United States Department of Agriculture. Modern jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands accept USDA certification, removing needless bureaucracy while maintaining safety — a change Bermuda could adopt immediately.

These inefficiencies are not academic. Every extra hour a container sits on the dock shortens shelf life, drives up waste and pushes prices higher. A delayed reefer sitting on the docks can see temperatures climb within hours, cutting days off a product’s life in stores. Layer DENR clearance bottlenecks on top of dock slowdowns, and the result is spoilt goods, empty shelves and higher prices for families.

Last night’s vote proved that dock-workers are willing to put the country ahead of union politics. Now the Government must match that courage — reforming Customs, dismantling the DENR’s outdated regime, fixing broken port infrastructure and making the docks an essential service. Bermuda’s lifeline must never be hostage again to personal vendettas or bureaucratic failure.

• Pier Pressure is writing on behalf of multiple wholesalers, importers and shippers