Marathon Meeting Between B.N.T.U. and the Prime Minister

The Belize National Teacher’s Union and the Prime Minister are meeting at this time at the Biltmore Plaza. The marathon meeting started at two p.m. and continues as government attempts to hammer out an agreement with the B.N.T.U.   The meeting follows another from last week with the joint negotiating team, which in addition to the B.N.T.U. features representatives from the Public Service Union and Association of Public Service Senior Managers. Top on the agenda is the Government’s proposal to defer a third year of salary adjustments worth fifteen million dollars to next April due to a financial crunch, which the government says is caused by Hurricane Earl. But today’s meeting was one-on-one, focused on eight separate points of negotiation with regard to national issues. Among those national issues is a call for the Senate inquiry into the Immigration scandal, an international investigation into the death of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas, an amendment to Social Security concerning teachers’ benefits, the instalment of the Integrity Commission, and a revitalization of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives. The meeting continues at this hour and a News Five crew is camping out at the Biltmore.