Ferries To Resume Today, Not Run Tomorrow
[Updated - BIU President said there will be no ferries tomorrow but said staff will return to work today to take commuters home. The Transport Ministry confirmed that Ferry Service will resume at 4pm today.]
The ferry service has been suspended until further notice, with the exact reason not stated, but unofficial suggestions are the staff may be attending a meeting.
A spokesperson for the Department said, “Please be advised that the Marine and Ports Sea Express Ferry Service has been suspended until further notice. An advisory will be sent once service resumes.”
Update 12.59pm: We have confirmed the staff are attending a meeting at the BIU
Update 1.34pm: The ferries are pictured below lined up in Hamilton
Update 2.36pm: BIU President Chris Furbert will be addressing the media later today
Update 3.09pm: Mr. Furbert is now holding a press conference, and said the staff will return to work today to take commuters home, but as of tomorrow there will be no ferries. He is describing various issues staff have had, and will have his full video later.
Update 3.27pm: A Transport Ministry spokesperson said, “Please be advised that Marine and Ports Sea Express Ferry Service will resume at 4 p.m. today.”
Update 3.52pm: Video of Mr Furbert’s press conference
Update 4.33pm: A copy of the letter sent to Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell regarding the BIU’s concerns at the Department of Marine & Ports is below [PDF here]
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Another BIU meeting!!!LOL what a joke!!
The JOKE is the managerial positions are all acting and don’t have a clue what they’re doing.
Bring two ferries from the U.S. next summer.
These workers do not see they are being phased out by the OBA
Privatized Ferry System with Foreign Staff means Bermudians out of work.
Long as its the only the lazy ones I really couldn’t care less!
The ones that work, will be let go too
Most management positions have been acting for two years
That’s de problem a bunch of ACTORS!!!!!!!!!!
P R I V A T I Z E
Exactly. Fire them all, re-advertise NON-UNION jobs and then we’ll see who wants to work!
Ya and treat workers like indentured slaves like the Indians, Philippines, Jamaicans and anyone else who comes from a country where their dollar is weak. Our ancestors sacrificed so we can live a better life from the hands of the Oligarchy mindset and that mindset is still around.
Privatizing is not the answer. We need to all stand together and protect the rights our forefathers fought hard for. You people that have been on easy street all your life or are on easy street would never understand the struggle the field slave has or is going through. Stop burying your head in the sand and pay attention. The threat is real and you could be next!
This is about no overtime – the rest is just window dressing.
Bad Actors
Does anyone else find it funny that the top “related post” to this article is an oped from Lawrence Scott titled “Overseas Ferry Charter Is ‘Very Disturbing’”? C’mon Lawrence, connect the dots. You can do it!!
And so it begins…
Good luck BDA….you all will need it…there will be not one winner when the turmoil ends…
I sincerely weep for this island and her people
for the love of god, what now? i’d like to get home tonight.
Catch a taxi
or a bus
You are an idiot. Who has the money for a taxi or the time to sit in traffic in a bus from the 60′s?
Idiot, that’s why its called Public Transportation.
So if no one rides the bus or catches a taxi and depends on the ferry that leaves you with one form of transportation and hope there are no windy days. Idiot
Yes you hardworking family folks who live in Somerset, take mazumbos advice and take taxi. Don’t worry it will set you back $70 a day. throw your ferry pass and take a taxi just like mazumbo recommends.
And I said or bus.
How are they allowed to just STOP service out of the blue. Unexceptable.
When the BIU was let off the hook over the bond part of the deal was no wildcat strikes. Since the BIU isn’t holding up its side of the bargain can we have our $14 million please?
start connecting the dots people………. PLP/biu are planning to destabilize and overthrow the Government and just when we were starting to turn the corner………
Well said!
I totally agree with cowpolly – this is a concerted effort to overthrow the current Government. I just wonder who is behind it (give you two guesses).
The OBA needs to now grow steel balls and handle this the way it needs to be handled.
Wow at the spelling of unacceptable lol, but yes Chris Furbert is a clown for the most part
wow
…all because someone wants to cancel meetings 10+ times….SMH!!!
Oh No!!! Not another dispute brewing. I hope not!!! Thank Goodness schools are out!!!
Not all of them…
Not again!
Some schools are out, not all by any means.
what a bunch of uneducated uncaring uncouth!They are destroying Bermuda…………
no they are educated just blind when it comes to Chris Furbert and his get out from paying back money to Bermuda cronies
So when things like this happens in U.S.A., and Europe do you fell the same way, its been 3 years they have tried to get some results they would listen now.
3 years and ‘they’ didn’t listen?
Does that mean that the PLP is also anti-labour now?
No its proof that they’re not in bed together.
I would say it is proof as they had ample time to take such action under the previous Govts reign
And they did
newsplash this is not Europe:)
B.I.U is a joke Union. They may have strength in numbers and the power to cause chaos, but it is not well run or well managed and certainly not respected as a union. Their accounts at one point were 11 years behind, yes 11 YEARS behind. They couldn’t manage their accounts properly, the CO-OP, credit union, Taxi Dispatch etc… Bring back Otti.
Somebody needs a swift kick in the ass! As taxpayers ALL of us should not be inconvenienced like this every 5 mins!!
Evil hands controlling recent events.
Stay tuned.
Demise of Bermuda but not recorded.
Ukraine ring a bell?
Another wildcat strike. Any consequences, other than customers put at great inconveience? SNAFU.
Fire them all..bring in Ex pats!
Go ahead fire them all and you think Syria is bad.
Bollocks!
Is that a threat of violence against Bermuda and Bermudians Mazumbo?
serenity now.
Can the public protest against the BIU?
Yes, but apparently you get fired.
Great Idea Bermyman! The gutless OBA will only pander to the BIU again!! So it’s time THE PUBLIC who the BIU aggrieves initiates marches on BIU Headquarters!! A taste of their own medicine is the ONLY way to get the message through to those idiots who seem determined to destroy Bermuda and it’s people!!
This is the MOST Redneck environment I have ever seen… This should be illegal… How can 1 entity (BIU) be allowed to stop a Government service? … Again how ignorant can folks be????? Unreal that this is allowed to happen…. Watch out folks……….. Its down hill from here…….. So sad the OBA has to try to clean up the previous nightmare governments mess, they have to contend with the likes of the BIU tearing this place apart and running it in the ground… I cry for this country….
The rednecks that I know don’t mind working. They wouldn’t expect to have a job a pulling this dumb sh#$t all the time..
I can’t believe what a joke this island has become
Here Here!!!
That’s why there’re rednecks we in Bermuda are more conscious of workers rights and what our ancestors fought for and what we are continuing to fight for. We in Bermuda have a rich History of Labor Movements and are proud of it, so whatever Hick Town environment you came from or are used to go back to it but this is how we do it Bermy Style and your lucky we are Civil because other places around the world are in chaos for less.
Your PLP “leader” has ultra religious tea party credentials.
Don’t make me laugh. He wouldn’t get house room in a European labour party.
News Flash
This is not Europe.
HUH??? I come form a labor background and this is just embarrassing. Any ‘hick town’ environment would be ashamed to be acting like this….rich history my a**. That’s how you can justify this???
Seems like you need an 101 on Bermuda’s Labor History and I guess your labor background was all peaches and cream.
Not talking about history…talking about the 21st century. Stop living in the past, you cling onto it so desperately.
Nah, I’m good. I’ve been on strike…..for a real reason.
How is that fight for workers rights going? Just ask the folks who USED to have jobs working at places like Sonesta, EBSC, Marriott, Lantana, Pink Beach, Ariel Sands, Harmony Club, loughlands, Skytop, Horizons, Coral Beach, Belmont, Glencoe, Bermudiana? Want more? How is it going for all of them?
Tell us Mazumbo, what has the BIU done for all of those folks? Are you proud of all those jobs that are now gone? You really showed em didn’t you?
The owners of those properties took their monies including the workers pension contributions and ran .
Line up a qualified overseas partner who is qualified to be a backup. Privatize the division, when they throw down their tools, don’t pay them and bring in the overseas crew. Would probably be cheaper. Sounds radical but unless direct unpopular steps are made across various divisions in Bermuda it will keep getting worse and worse, especially if Bermuda keeps letting them get their own way.
Everyone should have boycott the ferries/buses like I said last time. They can’t hurt anyone if no-one uses it.
I know that’s not realistic as a lot of people need and rely on public transportation (unfortunately). And so they hold on to that power and abuse it.
Sure looks to me like the BIU/PLP are trying to cause a serious incident. And then turn around after and blame the OBA for it. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Problem is …you can boycott all you want for weeks, months.
They still get paid sitting on their ass or at home.
The BIU can pay them. Let’s see how long that lasts!
If you don’t come to work, how can you expect a paycheck? Pay for what…if you don’t work? Enough of this rubbish. Fire ‘em!
Looks to me to be a concerted effort by the PLP and BIU to drum up as much disruption and mud slinging as they possibly can, in the hope that some of it sticks.
What they don’t realise is the damage it is doing to THEIR economy and, ultimately, that own families.
Very sad.
Fire them..im 27 and need a full time job…and il take my 12 dollars a month and give it to red cross or cancer society
The PLP/BIU is scared to death that the OBA is having success. They want to stop it at all costs, even if it ruins the country and puts Bermudians out of work.
They will tell any lie, make any allegation, stop work for no apparent reason, break any rule, break any law.
The plp/biu obviously could care less for our Island (perhaps they don’t feel a part of our Island). Rather than “working together” to clean up the mess THEY MADE… their primary focus seems to be to continuously embarrass the OBA Government in an attempt to overthrow them. IMO the plp/biu will stoop to any level to regain power. And we are seeing that now. Wildcat strikes (so-called meetings) were supposed to stop when the Union’s $14,000,000.00 debt was forgiven. What happened…??
Enough is enough! Seriously.
Time for SAGE implementations. Enough is enough!
Well…let’s see if they finish their ‘meeting’ in time for the evening commute. Maybe they would leave the keys to the Pink Ferry in the wheelhouse so someone else can drive? It ain’t rocket science.
hmmmmm all this unrest before the budget is presented this week..co-inky-dink? Me thinks not !
I heard they will raise taxes on my chicken [KFC] and kool-aid??not fair for we, the working man..But seriously,today ferries ,next week possible parks dept, when will this insanity stop??Third world country in the making..
So why do the ferries / buses keep breaking down?
1. Poor Maintenance?
2. Parts keep seizing up due to non usage (always in meetings)?
3. Not enough time to fix vehicles (always at meetings)?
Before they complain about their jobs, they should fix their own problems. How can you complain about the job when you are never at the job?…..WTF
Well go to dockyard one day. You have Ferries on the dock waiting to be fixed. You have ten .. Marine and ports people standing around taking turns for two minutes to weld one hole. Go seriously look. The cuts are so slop
Then you have the Marine and ports workers on 24/7 on that tugboat in dockyard which is used once every 8 weeks for the car ship to come in. Saw them out two weeks ago FISHING ON A GOVT BOAT. They have nothing else to do. Go to dockyard I implore you. Laziest workers around. Prove me wrong. Then again why would they work.. its not like the Govt can fire them without backlash so their jobs are SO secure.
Betty; did you not get the memo from CTF and JS?
@Betty Trump !! that you?are you sick my friend , or in need of help??Bermuda must be truly in trouble , when i see Betty talking about union , and the working man..Oh i see, this is the Betty with three TTT,, me bad..lololol
Beyonce has all the $$$$
Clearly all part of the BIUplp master plan to destroy a legitimate, democratically elected Government. So what if the recovery is destroyed too, if we lose more jobs, it’s all about Bean and Furbert and Burgess and he who must not be mentioned.
A legitimate, democratically, are you serious, this Government is a joke and an embarrassment. They formed their party out of deception,
They don’t answer tough questions, shut down press releases, jet gate, refusing a Referendum when they promised, secret taping and the list goes on. PATHATIC.
They won fair and square. That is the essence of democracy, stop whining, end of story.
Also, you might consider using a spell check.
As I recall it was an election, not a coup and the OBA won it.
Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good tantrum.
Your uneducated, small minded ignorance is endless
Apologies, that comment That was meant for Magumbo or dumbo whatever it is
Your an idiot, and it’s because of degenerates like yourself that this place is gonna go to ****.
Oh well, i missed my court date. Been waiting for the ferry since 12:30. What now???
If you get arrested, call Chris Furbert.
Thats funny… lol.
What a joke he is. Or clown as someone else had put it.
The man will come lock your ass up sushi but won’t have the balls to lock up the REAL TROUBLE MAKERS!!
Could have caught the bus…no excuse!!!
Well catch de bus or taxi DREAMER
That’s the message to Bermudians trying to get to and from work and school, is it? Catch a taxi?
Like let them eat cake.
why should the workers have to fork out their hard earned money for a taxi when they have already bought a ferry pass?
Quite interesting the timing of it all. Just after the PLP’s accusations and a week before the budget.
By any means necessary I guess to get this Govt out of power and get the ones who put us in this mess back in. Guess that’s what they meant by their slogan ‘fulfilling a destiny…’
You Unioners better hope that your dues have not been misappropriated so that you can be paid for your illegal strikes.
But I imagine you all will be absolutely shocked yo see where your hard earned money was spent and that your strike fund is all but bare.
Bermuda is finished.
Bean and Furbert both consider it their birthright to mess up the lives of thousands of hardworking Bermudians. Indeed, you are correct.
By pulling this sort of crap, is it any wonder that so many Bermudians have difficulty supporting the Union even when they are in the right (as in the recent Princess dispute)?
There can be no excusing this – no matter what grievance they have. Government needs to add transport to essential services, enough is enough.
I wish I could say this surprises me. I’m afraid we’re probably only at the beginning.
If the buses join in, I’ll be logging into the facebook page to pick up people needing rides.
I propose a two day island wide employer’s strike because enough BS is enough BS.
Well apparently people only read what they want. You were told two weeks ago that if things didn’t change at M&P this would happen. But it does amaze me that it is okay for some people to have the right to work in a good working environment. But when the BIU and it’s members want the same it is an issue. If people spent more time giving a damn about the other person our country wouldn’t be the way it is.
Isn’t the Union required, by the agreed upon CBA, to provide at least 21 days notice of industrial action?
Wasn’t it your Union that decried and called foul over HP breaking their side of the CBA?
Beginning to see your hypocrisy and double standards?
No M&P is not one of those that have to give notice
I don’t believe that was formal strike notice, but I must admit I don’t know the legal requirements for the notice.
“If people spent more time giving a damn about the other person our country wouldn’t be the way it is.” Could say the same about the M&P staff!!
We all have things we don’t like at work, doesn’t mean we walk out every time the wind changes… In the real world you wouldn’t have a job!!
Yes that is why it has taken so long. When do they get to take a stand. Only if it convenience others. Like it says in the press statement it has been 3 years
Oh Palease – enlighten me……what are these bad working environments??? All you are doing is hurting this island even more.
Seriously? The nerve of you to talk about people giving a damn about the other person but yet BIU continues to only to give a damn about nobody but BIU members!!!!!!! You call inconveniencing the people of this country and tourist giving a damn about the other person?
Capt T.
What has changed to make yours not a good working environment? For how long has this been going on?
Guess what people don’t want to know what is really going on. They see BIU and they tense up.
Do the public have a right to be transported by a ferry pilot who is not full hot?
Bring in more Rhode Island Ferries,they were extremely polite and on time..plus..they did NOT walk off the job or strike.
Maybe the Rhode Island ferry is the reason for the walkout. First cruise ship comes in April which is when the Rhode Island ferry is supposed to start up again. Will have to watch the news tonight.
Seriously though, what does it take for you to see what is going on. BIU, PLP, two different entities. Do any of you have any idea as to what is going on. All I am seeing is people who are blinded by hatred for the laborers on this island. We stand up fo what we want, what we need and what we more than anything deserve. I am sure the majority of you posting here were the people who wanted the former PLP premier Ewart Brown’s head when he bought in the ferries and after they were here. Yes you take full advantage of the transport but I am sure you have no idea who is driving the boat. So yes here we go again, lucky for you though, the ferries will be there for you to get home.
Privitise the Ferries
I wish I was outside looking in at this mess, thanks for ruining the island PLP / BIU. Only a matter of time before we use sea shells for currency.
WHAT NOW??????????
Here we go again the plp/biu are ready to just to destroy bermud a by having another illegal work stoppage. Just when bermuda is starting to turn around with increased in companies being registered in 2013….
That’s what worries them. The economy is turning around. Scares them to death.
This is total BS! The Government needs to do something about these violations.
This is what they want.
Evil hands at work here.
Where is the Transport Minister? He should have been aware that BIU had threatened possible strike action w.r.t. Marine & Ports from a few weeks ago, and made efforts to get the sides together to sort it out.
Apparently they have been in meetings, the BIU just doesn’t like how things were going, or that a meeting had to be cancelled and they weren’t told why.
he claimed that meeting with them is not in his remit.
sounds like the bartenders @ hp
he was on the sherri show
m.i.a.
Kim Smith.
You are absolutely correct!
more Children.
down we go, cant anybody wait for the next election?
What is the nest election going to do… Worse thing for all is having the Poor Loser Party PLP in control….
Re stock the bars that are on the ferry bridges and they’ll come back to work, looks like yet another nail in the BIU coffin
I can see the same thing happening to another department because the answers are not what you like you deem it unsatisfactory when you want management to manage you want to tell them how. OBA tell them where to get off. Just remember there are a lot of terrible things your presidents and vice presidents are doing it will come out and these are the things you are supporting
You know, this is another situation where the union may well have legitimate greivances, but they toss out their credibility by throwing another tantrum instead of staying the course with the meetings, or even making what’s happening with the meetings public.
You’d think they’d want public support before they interrupt people’s livelihood.
Evil hands at work here.
*demonic
cut the fleet by half and lay off the rebel
Funny when the cog says we have to do more with less there was no complaints for furbert..
New Labor Act is needed, if the union wishes to hold meetings with their members, it must be done so in evenings after peak hours, and if members are on shift at that time, then their shop steward can brief them after the meeting. This union grandstanding needs to be shut down, the level of damage they are doing to our ability to stabilize Bermuda is unforgivable at this point. 1 days notice is unacceptable for public transport stoppage. Recall the bond and sue for damage to the economy.
Go ahead and blame the BIU, they are only the representative of M & P. M & P may have heard MP Crockwell on the radio today when he totally dismiss ( like it was beneath him) a M & P worker’s call for a meeting with him. Those workers are probably calling for proper care of the ferries so you ungrateful brats don’t end up in the middle of the Sound from a sunken ferry! Further more, M & P have been calling for a meeting with Government almost a year ago. I heard them get dissed by MP Crockwell. Seriously, I would be pissed as well!
Didn’t the BIU take action against HP because of an alleged breach of the CBA?
And now twice in a month the BIU has breached their part of the CBA which states that a strike must be given 21 days notice?
Do as I say and not as I do.
Workers were screwed under the public lying party.Now dey trying to get back vat was taken from dem under de pdp.
“an disw prumlam hais bean going horn for shree yirz”.
Detz rite.
HELLO…………………………………
Evil hands at work.
Wine anyone?
Maybe everyone in need of work should just start Gypsy Cabbing? The police turn a blind eye to that practice anyway so it’s not like anyone will get in trouble. All those needing work can just drive the Island all day, picking up people at bus stops and ferry terminals and just charge $2 per person.
Then we won’t need buses or ferries and the unemployed will have jobs.
Taxis can still do the hotel and airport runs and hangout at Horseshoe Bay.
Just a thought.
That letter is quite interesting concerning the long standing issues.
If true, it appears the SAGE report is quite accurate in its claims that the Civil Service, in particular the management, is in dire need of much more effective leadership. And I agree the ferries look horrible these days and they must only be around a decade old. If the outside can’t be maintained then I am sure the inside is much worse. Who’s fault is this and how did it happen in these multi million dollar tax payer funded machines. Are the workers not being adequately resourced to problem areas? Are they prevented from doing certain jobs due to labor contracts/job descriptions? I mean I remember a story not too long ago where a ferry worker was told, by his crew, that he must stop doing a certain maintenance job as it wasn’t in his description. The issue never got resolved by the time they left M&P. there needs to some form of accountability for these major and costly screw-ups.
While I understand BIU members frustration, they must be careful not to take drastic and damaging actions. By all means threaten industrial action within a specified time frame so that all are aware and not left out in the cold. But these sudden stoppages also affect the Bermudian workers, who are not part of your Union, who are just trying to stay employed in a dire economy.
Out island is on a very thin edge and about to topple off it, if we don’t stop the crazy and damaging nonsense that has transpired this week. No one will benefit or be able to claim victory if we don’t all start working together.
And on the day the budget comes out that for sure will have staffing cuts. Im guessing the Government will be privitising the Ferries
Do you really want management to start listing all the dumb crap the BIU workers and officials do cause that can easily be done in fact stay tuned since there is a lot of attack on management there is always a few more sides to the story
Privatize!!!!!! Get rid of the dead weight and move on!
If I had received that letter I would have thrown it in the bin thinking it was written by a child. You can’t even spell or use proper grammar and you expect anyone to take you seriously?
BTW…fire the lot and any other BIU member that decides to strike without notice.
Mr Furbert says this has gone on for 3 years. So in the PLP going to take any reposibilty for these issues???? That is the reason its ok to wlk out with no notice. Wow!
From page 3 of the BIU letter:
“Numerous reports have been given to Marine & Ports management that Mr. Randolph Smith has damaged boats trying to slip them and nothing seems to have been done, but when this infraction is done by a blue colour worker they are severaly dealt with by management.”
No wonder the ferries are in such bad shape. Apparently we have smurfs employed at M&P.
Getting ready for May?
Can someone associated with the BIU please at least get a message to management in regards to the Hinson’s Island residents. Every other stop is accessible via road transport. While I do not understand all the situation here, please consider that this island has several seniors who do not own a boat or are unable to pilot a boat. In addition there is not a single place to berth a boat outside of the private yacht clubs.
If this is to be a long action could they perhaps see fit to run a morning and then a lunch run so that the residents can get groceries, see doctors etc. I believe if the union asks their staff they will confirm that these residents and the pilots and crew have an excellent relationship and that private boats for some are not an option.
Again, please pass this request on to BIU leadership for consideration.
Many thanks,
So they don’t like any of their 5 Bermudian bosses (unqualified,bad management style, they bang up boats & spent 1.2 million on a ferry now outa service), and they don’t like the plan to bring in two non-Bermudian managers … so they are not going to work tomorrow. What do they want? Brother George in charge? Just tell us!
The PLP/BIU KNOW full well the OBA is on the right track! But as Jose Mourinho would say they are “parking the bus”! LMAO!!!
3 words.
Privatize Privatize Privatize………..
Just the way I see it.
-FWB Jr
Whatever the timeline is for privatising the ferrys, speed it up. The boats will be better cared for. The boats will no longer be overcrewed. We will get schedules that make sense. Ferrys will run at the convenience of passengers, not the hours the crews feel like working.
Best of all, NO MORE MEETINGS.
And all that for $15 one way from Dockyard ! Guess I’ll see you on board when your dream comes true .
Hi, I am new to the island. Does anyone know where I will be able to get my prorated refund for the time missed on the quarterly pass?
thanks!
BIU HQ.
Thank you, I think I may wait till it settles down. The leader of that organization seems a tad agitated at the moment.
Enjoy your day off BIU. Hopefully, you’ll be enjoying many more real soon.
Here`s a thought, who are they (biu)hurting with these unlawfull meetings ? Not me !!!! It is my opinion Bermuda does not need buses or ferries. Bring back horses and donkeys and Chris Furburt and his stupid chest banging goes away !! No buses on the road, no ferries on the water, its a beautiful thing.
Knowing brother Chris, he will probably have the horses and donkeys unionised
… unless you’re someone who relies on public transportation, particularly seniors.
Somebody in Government needs to grow a pair of Ronald Reagan-sized b@lls and fire the lot of them. Public transportation should be considered an essential service.
Furby is out to get the OBA on behalf of the 14 yrs.
Remember Bermuda, unions helped to bring the city of Detroit to its knees! Now it’s a barren wasteland where productivity and prosperity are almost nonexistent.
This all will end up in a National Emergency, ban the BIU now or you will pay a big price later!!
Enough is enough. Bring in the uk and have them settle this nonsense. It is quite obvious politicians on either side of the floor are not up to the task, and in the meantime it the average joe who supports either party who suffers the most!
A few weeks ago, the BIU pulled everyone out because an employer didn’t follow the letter of the CB Agreement. Now, they flaunt a CBA and the LAW by pulling a wildcat strike! Go figure!!
What an embarrassing letter, a simple grasp of the fundamental basics of the English language would go a long way. How can they expect to be taken seriously when they can’t even construct a simple sentence. The children of Bermuda should be shown this letter as a perfect example of how not to write. Mr Samuels should be ashamed for putting his name to it.
According to the letter from the BIU these problems have been going on for years. Why did they wait until now to bring it the attention of the public rather than do so when the previous government was in office? After all, the OBA wasn’t in power five years ago so the problems aren’t the result of their actions. Of course, if they do act to clean up the mess we’ll hear people screaming about the number of Bermudians that were let go/made redundant (and we’ll hear the usual groups complain if any new staff isn’t 100% Bermudian).
The decision to act now couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that Bean and Burt are about to be sued for slander could it? Hate to think what the union will do if/when they’re found guilty.
Guys as a person who catches the ferry I support you for the stance that you have taken. Finally after three years of trying your voices will be heard. Thank you for looking out for my well being and also that of fellow commuters as it is a hazard to travel on vessels that are not mantained to the level that they should be.
Whilst it may be an inconvenience thank you for the advance notice as I was able to work out means of transport over night….continue to do what you have to do to make things right…
They let you travel on unsafe ferries for 3 years???
It is a testament to the naivety and lack of education of the BIU that not only do they once again think they are justified in instigating unreasonable action, but someone had to write the exhibited letter…. poorly….. then the same person presumably proof-read it……. and didn’t pick up on the grammatical mistakes……. and then someone else had to edit it……… without noticing the same mistakes……… and then someone published it, presumably after reading it………… and still, not one of them – not one person found any fault with the way it was written. What is even more disturbing is that most of the Bermudian populace who read it will be thinking ‘yes! Well said!’. And we wonder why our population cannot compete for jobs in the international market………….