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Castellanos, Key Union Negotiator Reportedly Bails On Negotiations
posted (January 31, 2013)
Tomorrow morning the Unions' negotiating team will meet with the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Room in Belmopan. The buildup to the meeting has framed it as a pivotal event, which could determine whether the next few weeks will see strike action or an orderly resolution.

And while the stakes are very high, reports say that the union is going into the meeting without an important member of their team: numbers guru Jose Castellanos, President of the APSSM. Immediate Past President, George Myvette told us this evening that Castellanos has submitted his resignation from the collective bargaining negotiating team and he will not be a part of the team when they meet tomorrow. But te odd part is that Myvett told us he hasn't been able to reach Casteallnos and has not seen any letter formalizing the resignation. Myvette told us Castellanos sent it to the Prime Minister's Office, but we could not confirm that - and senior sources in that office deny it. So, what's behind the resignation? And is it really a resignation? Well, we'll have to take Myvett's word - he is, after all, the past president. But as to what's behind it, Myvette would only hazard a guess that it may be because of intimidation. He had not gotten that from Castellanos though - as he has gone incommunicado with his union brothers. Castellanos works in the policy section of the Ministry of Agriculture. We don't need to underscore it, but his absence is considered critical since tomorrow's meeting will center on the state of the government's finances - and whether it can or can't afford a raise - and as the economist Castellanos would have been central to that discussion. We'll see how it goes and have that report tomorrow night. But Minister of National security John Saldivar is making news about unions tonight. Last week he was accused of an attempt at union busting - and this morning on WAVE Radio - where - out-spoken-ness is encouraged - he said plainly, he won't stop:..

Hon. John Saldivar
"If they are not able to reach a satisfactory conclusion tomorrow Fonso, I will travel this country with government's position. I am telling you from now, so Mr. Palacio if you want to call is union busting - you could call it what you want, but I am going to travel the entirety of this country meeting with teachers and if they don't want to come to the meeting, I will go to their house, I will find a way to meet them so that they know the facts of what it is that my government position is what are we offering because these leaders have a political agenda."

"I like when they have their political agenda because it brings them in my arena because my arena is politics. If they think they can play politics better than me then we will get in there and we will rumble. They want to shape peoples mind against my government in a certain way? Well I am going out there to counter that."

We hope to have reaction from the unions on that tomorrow.

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