Nine workers at Government's reverse osmosis plant at Prospect downed tools yesterday morning in support of a suspended colleague.

The men demanded that the 37-year-old — who has been off work on full pay — be reinstated, as they said he was a crucial part of their team and their workload was too heavy without him.

They stopped work at the plant on Fort Hill Road at about 9.20 a.m. yesterday, telling The Royal Gazette soon after that management told them to leave the premises and hand in their keys after they downed tools.

None of the men who spoke to this newspaper would be named for fear it could affect their employment.

One said: "The workers have taken action today. We actually downed tools for reasons being that one of our workers is out on suspension and it's been longer than a month.

"We are actually demanding that he be [brought] back. He was suspended due to a verbal altercation between one of the foremen and himself. Why do you want to discipline only one party?"

Another added: "They haven't given reasons why he is out. We need him for our workload."

The men — members of Bermuda Industrial Union who work in Works and Engineering's water treatment and distribution section — said they gave management notice of the industrial action in writing last week.

The first worker said: "We was giving them notice because we actually need him back — he's very vital to our team. Management has a habit of not solving problems or issues between themselves and workers."

The man said their work at the plant involved treating water with sulphuric and caustic acid and could be dangerous, especially if they were short-staffed.

"There are five of us in the treatment section and he's needed for his size alone. We handle all the chemicals and this makes our workload that much harder.

"We are all here together to stand behind each other because we need a big change right now."

The workers said they were also angry about the way overtime was being allocated and concerned that work they could do was being contracted out to private firms. Last night, the workers told this newspaper that management had agreed to reinstate their colleague.

Works and Engineering Permanent Secretary Robert Horton last night said the issue was resolved following a meeting with management and senior BIU officers. No one at BIU could be reached for comment.