B.N.T.U. President Says We Are Not Back At Square One

Elena Smith

The Prime Minister says that the option to amend the Public Service Regulations to give the minister the power to alter salaries is back in play. According to the PM, if the unions continue to play hard ball, the regulations will be amended and the salaries will be altered. Senator Elena Smith says that she doesn’t believe that the Prime Minister should resort to that move.

Elena Smith, National President, B.N.T.U.

“When we left from that meeting all sides left from that meeting and when I say all sides the three unions along with the government side I believe we all left that meeting with an understanding that we had reached an agreement and there was no need for the Prime Minister go to the position that he needs to make amendment to the regulations. That is how we felt the  meeting felt that we had reach a point that the threat of amending regulations  was not longer needed or no longer necessary.

Hipolito Novelo

“Are we back to square one?”

Elena Smith

“No, I don’t think so. If that was what placed there yesterday then I don’t think that was an accurate position to have been placed out there because   we don’t feel we have not written to them. W responded to them indeed to say that we had suggested some changes but nowhere in our response did we say to them that we did not agree with what was said. We made some suggestion to them hoping that they would agree to those suggestions. They have written back to us to say that we are willing to accept some but we can’t accept all and so we are now discussing the one that they were not willing to accept to see if it will make a difference if we accept what they have or  if it is we must keep the wording that we prefer. So that is where we are. So I don’t believe that we are at a place where no agreement was reach or that we are back at square one.”