Angry workers have been promised a crisis meeting with the Premier on Monday after confronting her on the steps of the House of Assembly during yesterday's one-day strike.

Police estimate around 1,500 Bermuda Industrial Union members took to the streets in frustration at lingering disputes with CableVision, Serco Aviation Services, Stevedoring Services and the Bermuda Aquarium which they say Government has done little to help solve.

Buses and ferries stopped during the action - both services are expected to resume a normal service today.

Yesterday, workers claimed Public Transport Board Director Dann Simmons had misled the public by claiming he did not know about the action.

He replied: "I wasn't formally informed by the union headquarters about what was happening."

Acting Marine and Ports Director Mike Dolding said ferry services had stopped at around 8.45 yesterday morning.

He said: "I was expecting them back but they have not returned. I have not had official word from the union to tell me the crew won't come back for the day. I am told a normal service will resume tomorrow but I haven't had official word."

He apologised to the public for the loss of service.

Asked if workers would get paid he said: "I will have to take advice from the department of personnel services."

BTC said installation and repair appointments had been missed because of the action - the company apologised and urged customers to reschedule.

There was no garbage collection in the eastern parishes yesterday. Government said trash will be picked up on Tuesday while the Monday pick-up in the western parishes would go ahead as normal.

Education Department spokeswoman Lucy Welch said there was minimal effect on the schools because senior schools Berkeley and CedarBridge had been scheduled to close anyway for training.

She added: "With the primary schools, children don't have far to travel. Middle schools were the only ones affected, but we spoke to one or two which seemed to be fine."

Andrea Mowbray, Executive Director of Bermuda Employers Council (BEC), which has close to 400 companies on its books, said only one firm had reported problems.

She said: "Only three people turned up so they had to shut the company down." She declined to name the firm.

She said the union had not followed all the avenues to resolve the disputes.

She added: "Most employers and managers are a bit baffled about where all this comes from. It seems to come out of the blue. It's not the best economic time for it to be happening."

It was not clear last night whether workers will be paid for the one-day stoppage which BEC President Eddie Saints has claimed was against the law for essential services. These include transport, refuse collection, port and dock services, mail and phone workers.

Glen Simmons, the chief shop steward of the public transport section who led the march, said all sections of the BIU answered the strike call apart from Stevedoring Services, who continued to work.

Acting Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Senator David Burch could not say if striking government workers would be paid. He referred the matter to civil service head Stanley Oliver who refused to comment last night.

Nor did Sen. Burch know if it was an illegal action.

He said Government Labour Relations officers were trying to resolve disputes at Bermuda CableVision and Serco, while the Stevedoring Services dispute was still in the process of arbitration. The dispute over union recognition at the Government run Bermuda Aquarium was before the courts.

He said Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Terry Lister would look into the problems in greater detail after returning to Bermuda at the weekend.

The BIU has poured scorn on his claims that the department has had not received letters from the union about the disputes. Yesterday, BIU President Derrick Burgess gave Sen. Burch copies of the letters.

Shadow Labour Minister Patricia Gordon Pamplin said of the strike: "I think its sad that the workers' levels of frustration have reached the stage where they have to march on Parliament - on a labour government. It's a sad indictment of the abject failure of this government."

And she cast doubt on the Premier's claim that she did not know about the unhappiness. "I question the veracity of this.

"To my mind if you have a minister who has serious challenges in that ministry and he is not communicating those challenges with the Premier, who doesn't even know there are problems? Clearly there is something wrong."