Public transport isn’t currently deemed an essential service, according to Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy, who addressed the disruption caused by industrial action over the Fairmont Hamilton Princess employment dispute.

Senator Fahy commended the hotel and the Bermuda Industrial Union for reaching an agreement which saw “all employees, including our public service workers” return to work.

“Without question, this Government recognises the inconvenience that this situation caused the members of the public and our visitors,” he said. “So we appreciate their patience and understanding during what was obviously a challenging time.”

He stressed the importance of communication, saying there “should have been more dialogue” between the two sides.

“It’s very important that parties follow respective bargaining agreements,” Sen Fahy said. “That’s why they’re there. If there are disputes that arise, there are procedures to follow.”

Asked if there were options for averting bus or ferry strikes in future disputes, he said it wasn’t possible to “legislate for bad behaviour”.

“If parties desire to go outside the bounds of the law, there’s not a lot that can be done save for going through the proper procedure as appropriate.

“There are, for those that are unaware, certain sections under the Labour Relations Act that list essential services. Transportation services are not currently listed in the schedule of essential services. It just simply is not in. That is something that has been considered and we will continue to consider as to whether they should be added.

“Having said that, if you add something and the procedure is still not followed, then we as Government have to continue to follow our procedure. And that is to form arbitration tribunals and go down that route. It’s not as simple as saying to any party that you have to follow what we want; that’s not how the process works.”

He added: “It’s not a quick process. It’s unfortunate but that is why dialogue and collaboration is most important, so that you never get to the stage of having to implement the procedures under the various Acts.”

He conceded that Wednesday was “a day high in emotion with both sides seeking to get across their various viewpoints”.

And the Minister thanked the Green family, along with Government staff for their “work around the clock to get the two sides to the table”.

“This Government will always recognise the rights of the workers,” Sen Fahy said. “However, when disputes arise, we must be ever mindful that the labour process works best when it is rooted in a collaborative effort.”

Asked when employment clauses might be worked into hotel concessions legislation, Sen Fahy said redundancies were “not foreseen by anyone” when the law was drafted.

“I would say that when the Concessions Act was put in place a number of years ago, I don’t think anyone at that time had envisaged that what would happen in some circumstances would be redundancies. So I think that needs to be considered, and it has been raised with Government. I have also raised it with my colleagues.”

Although he declined to comment on which side breached the collective bargaining agreement, Sen Fahy noted: “We were fortunate that an agreement was reached today and certain steps did not need to be looked at further.”

Opposition head Marc Bean also welcomed the news of a deal, adding: “Hopefully, lessons have been learned and that going forward we will see a more balanced and more respectful approach to the process that will create an environment where industrial action, such as Bermuda witnessed over the past 24 hours, will be unnecessary.”

Unions play a vital role along with employers, Mr Bean said.

“The current economic conditions must not be used to excuse efforts to roll back the hard fought for gains of the labour movement. The unions made their stand, the Fairmont Hamilton Princess took their stand, and now we must put this incident behind us and work together as partners in our island’s success.”

Mr Bean said there had been a “vocal minority negative element” on social media and “around the dinner table across the Island” that had called for “everything from the breaking of the union to economic retribution against union workers”.

“This is intolerable and such attitudes must adjust if we wish to maintain the peaceful island we all love,” he said. “Bermuda cannot survive if Bermudians are left behind and together we must find new ways to move our country forward.”