Industrial action at Hamilton docks could become a thing of the past after workers struck up a new collective bargaining agreement with management.

At a press conference this afternoon, Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert ushered in a new age of understanding and cooperation between his members and port bosses.

And that view was echoed by Warren Jones, CEO of Polaris Holdings which owns management company Stevedoring Services.

Under the new agreement, dock workers have accepted a 1.7 percent wage increase for the 2013/14 financial year — but have agreed to a wage freeze during 2014/15.

The union has also agreed to a reduction in overtime pay, with double time rates only being paid out between Fridays and Sundays rather than throughout the week.

And starting next month, cargo will be unloaded and delivered throughout the day after staff struck new terms with management. Previously work at Hamilton docks was halted for an hour each day to allow staff to take a lunch break.

At this afternoon’s press conference, Mr Furbert acknowledged that the relationship between workers and management had been “rocky” in recent years.

But he declared that under a new management team — Mr Jones took over as Polaris CEO at the start of the year — a new relationship had blossomed.

“We certainly agree that the recent negotiations marked frank exchanges, honesty and transparency on both sides of the table,” Mr Furbert said.

“At the annual shareholders’ meeting of The Polaris Holding Company Limited around June 2013 a new board was elected. The new board, chaired by Mrs Cheryl Hayward Chew began immediately working on the relationship between the Port Workers Division of the BIU and Stevedoring Services Limited because the previous Board of Directors and management team led by Mr Peter Aldrich had a different agenda. There was a lot of tension in the relationship between the parties that needed to be fixed.

“Over the last six to nine months there has been a big improvement in the relationship between the Employer and the Union. Once Mr Jones started in January 2014 he continued to build on that foundation. Today I believe both parties can say they are quite pleased with the relationship.

“In order to have a positive working relationship, you need to have two parties sitting down together and I think when the new board came in they could sense the tension.”

Mr Jones pointed out that the docks represented a lifeline for Bermuda and that dockworkers were “unsung heroes” who kept that lifeline open.

“The staff that I have come to know understand that this country depends on them, even if the country doesn’t know it,” he said.

“I must thank the members of the port workers division of the BIU and the members of the management team for the manner in which these negotiations took place. While I was not party to previous meetings between management and the union, it is my understanding that those meetings were sometimes quite stormy.

“During the negotiation, the port workers have taken a risk and are trusting that I will honour the agreement we have reached.

“They have provided me with an opportunity to change their view of management. We have discussed management’s expectations of staff, and the union, on their behalf, has discussed has discussed staff expectations of management. As a result, we have found that we have many of the same goals.”