Joint Union Negotiation Team Calls for Meeting with Prime Minister

Elena Smith

B.N.T.U. President Elena Smith says the prime minister has not responded to letters from the Joint Unions Negotiation Team requesting a meeting. According to Smith, the joint unions requested to meet with the prime minister and his team in September but instead gave consideration to the September celebrations. They then reportedly requested a meeting in October. Smith says, to date the joint union has been unable to meet with P.M. Briceño.

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

“We have written to the Prime Minister. We said over and over, we have written to the prime minister. The least he should have done as the prime minister who we wrote to is to respond to us to say at this point in time I am unable to meet, prime minister, because we wrote to him. The only response we got was from Mrs. Narda Garcia to say the prime minister was unable to meet with us at the time we had said. We wrote to the p.m. man, at least have some decency and respond to us as unions nuh man. It just simply shows you who they care about, and again they were quick to come to us, they found us to meet with us to ask us, please assist the government and sacrifice. But now that we want to discuss the reinstatement we can’t find them, we can’t get them. So, our teachers are not happy. As a union we don’t put our cards on the table, we do what we must do. So, whenever our teachers do whatever they must do and they give us that mandate then we will abide by that, whatever that may be.”