A work stoppage accompanied by protests, fiery speeches, rebuttals, press conferences and an orderly march through the city streets — it was all evident as Bermuda experienced another day of unrest. And there are rumblings that there could be more of the same on Monday, although by last night no announcement had been made.

While some 1,200 protesters gathered around the House of Assembly, voicing their displeasure of the Bermuda Government’s immigration reforms, there were hundreds of bloggers angered by the disruption.

By late afternoon almost 400 comments were posted on The Royal Gazette website alone, the vast majority incensed by the action taken by the People’s Campaign and Bermuda Industrial Union.

Leading the demonstrations were People’s Campaign spokesman the Reverend Nicholas Tweed and BIU chief Chris Furbert.

“It appears that democracy for some is a spectator sport,” said Mr Tweed, whose father is a Bermudian but an immigrant himself and work permit holder.

“They want to sit and make all the decisions and have us sit in the back while we just watch them work. We come to remind them that democracy is a participatory process, and those entrusted to govern are servants of the people and not rulers of the people.”

Mr Furbert referred to a meeting he had with government ministers on Wednesday “because tensions and frustrations were rising.”

“This is no game,” Mr Furbert told the crowd. “What we said to the ministers is the people are crying out for you to take this legislation off the table.”

“This is absolutely not a labour issue,” he explained. “This is a political issue in relationship to your constitutional right of freedom of peaceful assembly and peaceful protest.”

Responding to Mr Tweed’s and Mr Furbert’s comments, Michael Dunkley, the Premier, said in the House of Assembly: “The call by the People’s Campaign for an island-wide withdrawal of labour in response to the Government’s plan to engage in a full debate of its proposals for comprehensive immigration reform cannot be considered a responsible action.

“This Honourable House is the place to debate the issues that we as a country must face, especially the most challenging and most uncomfortable issues.

“The call to withdraw labour is intended to disrupt life in Bermuda, inconveniencing many families and interfering with the delivery of services. Children will not be able to get transport to school. Parents will be forced to remain home from work to care for them. The list of disruptions goes on. The call for withdrawal of Labour threatens Bermuda’s work to rebuild the economy — work that produces the jobs and opportunity Bermudians sorely need to provide for their families. It will impact us far beyond our shores, and far beyond today.”

Asked by Opposition Leader Marc Bean whether “if in light of this strike action, if the Government’s position on Pathways to Status was unchanged”, Mr Dunkley said “our current position remains the same.”

Among those in the crowd was hunger striker Enda Matthie who has been camping outside Cabinet since Tuesday.

“I feel good,” Ms Matthie said, pointing to her sign calling for Parliament to be dissolved.

Protester Pat O’Connor said: “There’s been a lot going on that is very upsetting. We need to see change. Enough is enough. We want the right decision so everyone can benefit, not just a select few. What we have to recognise is that our children are really our future.”

Warren Foggo said he attended to “support the rest of the people here for our country”, adding that there had not been enough consultation with the people.