Unionists and S.S.B. face off in labour dispute

Unionists are back in the news tonight, this time facing off with the management of the Social Security Board. I got the details today from disgruntled Christian Worker’s Union president Antonio Gonzales.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Ongoing negotiations between the management of the Social Security Board and the Christian Workers Union have so far failed to solve several points of dispute. According to C.W.U. President Antonio Gonzales, the union represents ninety percent of the S.S.B. staff.

Antonio Gonzales, President, C.W.U.
?Well we have it with promotions, we have it with loans. There is a spiteful management there you know. When we have problems like this, they seem to press the employees as to other issues. They bring in new people on contract, people who are permanent employees they change them from being that into contract, contract situations and other issues like that. And that more or less compounds the issue.?

One of the sticky points of the negotiation appears to be a memorandum of understanding for employees of the Social Security Board.

Antonio Gonzales
?They maintain that they want to sign their version of that, they stand firmly or immediately to sign their version. We cannot agree as a union?as I said in principle. Any parties to any documents, both parties have to finally agree to the contents. And this is the grievous situation that we are in right now, that we maintain that, we maintain that okay let us have a meeting. In fact in our letter of the ninth of February we requested a meeting to discuss, and if they have any query to send it to us. Again to date they haven?t sent it.?

Gonzales claims it was not until C.W.U. sent a release to the media today that they finally got a positive response from S.S.B. management.

Antonio Gonzales
?This morning I managed to call the chairman and explain to him in no certain terms that we have issued a press release. As I said, as a responsible union we inform him and we told him that we will plan some actions. And he called back and said that?in fact the union suggested a meeting on Monday. He called back and he confirmed that we will be meeting on Monday. ?

That meeting between C.W.U. and S.S.B. management including the chairman and C.E.O. is scheduled for nine-thirty a.m. at the S.S.B. headquarters in Belmopan.

Gonzales says that if they are not satisfied with the outcome of Monday’s meeting, they would ask members to consider a go-slow, sick out, or an all out strike. A press released issued by the Social Security Board today maintains that its actions are within its rights as management and all decisions are made in the best interest of staff and with the intention of improving relations with the Christian Workers Union.