That's one thousand more than the BNTU President promised yesterday - and to be sure, a mighty impressive crowd - the type usually reserved for political rallies. And so with the numbers in a range that they could relate to, did the political directorate - which was in Cabinet -get the message? One of them who had a unique chance to do so was Education Minister Patrick Faber; his office at the Ministry of Education flanks the National Assembly Stairs. Today, when returning from Cabinet, he walked past the large crowd and had to go around the back to get into his office. We caught him as he was passing and asked him if he was moved by the showing:..
Jules Vasquez
"The crowd out here today seems impressive to us but did you as the Minister see it and are you sufficiently impressed that they have the 100% support of the teachers?"
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"Honestly I have not seen the crowd. I have just walked by here and I have not looked over for obvious reasons. I know that somebody might be in the crowd that gets over happy and does something that is not necessarily warranted, I must get to my office and that is the reason I'm passing here. I have to go enter through the backdoor but it's not a problem."
Jules Vasquez
"You may not have heard the chants this morning but the chants said that if you can't help you'll have to go."
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"There are a lot of emotions out here today and I am not holding that against anybody and so yes there is a crowd. I am certain and it's a crowd that of course we have to recognized and respect and as I've always said that I do respect the teachers and anybody else who is out here their right to demonstrate and to make clear to the government and to anybody else the point that they are making here today or any other point that they may feel so strongly about."
Jules Vasquez
"However I have the sense that the point is not being made effectively in so far as you don't seemed to be swayed."
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"I am not the person to be suede. The Government/Cabinet does that collectively of course the Prime Minister more importantly does that as he is the Minister of Finance."
Reporter
"Do you believe that there could be a compromise rather than simply saying there is no funds - a compromise on the percentages the unions are asking for?"
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"That is something that has to be determined. The Governments' position at this time remains that it does not have the funds. I believe that that may well be the position right through because that is the simple truth - that these monies are not there. If you look at what figures the government presents and of course those figures are challenge by the unions - but if you look at the figures that even the unions present, it still leaves a gap in the national budget of tens of millions of dollars and until we are able to fill that gap then it doesn't matter how much the kind of salary adjustment that is being requested is deserved - how much it is going to alleviate conditions if the hard cold truth is that these monies are not there and I think what the Prime Minister intends to do on Friday in our meeting is to say to people that these monies are simply not there but let's talk about how else we can ameliorate some of these conditions that teachers and public servants experience on a day-to-day basis. The Prime Minister is convince that that is the case and is telling you as the Minister of Finance that there is no way that this kind of salary adjustment; this kind of salary raise is going to happen at this time the money is simply not there. It doesn't matter whatever you do, it's simply not there."
Jules Vasquez
"This is inconsequential then?"
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"We have to talk about what else can be done and how else as I said the conditions can be ameliorated."
Jules Vasquez
"So then is all this inconsequential?"
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"Not really, it is important for people to make a stand. I fully respect that, I believe the cabinet fully understand that. I am just out of the Cabinet meeting and they fully understand that statement is being made here that things need to improve. I don't want to be pre-emptive ad to say what will come out of the meeting on Friday but I am sure that what is going to be discussed is how is it we proceed forward given the statements of power that have been shown out here today. We cannot close our eyes to that. What I am saying is that if we don't have the money that's not going to be the direction in which we move."
Faber will be in that meeting with the Prime Minister and the unions which will be held on Friday in the Cabinet Room in Belmopan. The Prime Minister has indicated that he is willing to discuss a salary adjustment that is indexed to a current surplus.
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