Luke Palacio, President BNTU
"This is an attempt at union busting. Belize National Teachers' Union, along with our joint negotiating team, has prepared a statement that has been sent out to the media, in which we are advising the teachers to boycott that meeting, either they stay at home, or they report to their regular place of work, during the time of the scheduled meeting. We see this as acting in bad faith. Every time we went to negotiations on the Collective Bargaining Agreement, never was there a time when an Area Representative would have called constituents to discuss these matters. We believe that if the Government is serious about addressing this issue, they were given ample opportunity. By letters sent to the office of the Honorable Prime Minister asking his intervention at which time he had sent 3 ministers to participate in the negotiations and never was an area representative and in this particular case the Honorable John Saldivar ask to be a part of that team. We at the union are saying - we are not doing anything illegal, we are legally registered bodies; the 3 unions that are negotiating. This is a part of industrial relations and we expect to operate in an atmosphere of good industrial relations and so we condemn this act and we strongly advise our teachers not to participate in tomorrow's meeting."

And the union leaders also got a chance to respond to the Prime Minister's comments about not being able to afford the 30% increase over three years. He said the Government would have to raise taxes - well the unions say the finances are being so well managed - that the robust growth makes the increments affordable:..

Jose Castellanos, President of the Association of Public Service Union Managers
"This year the economy grew as much as it did in 4 years. In their whole 4 years of growth from 2008 - 2011 their growth in nominal terms is the same as this year; in one year we manage to grow as much as in 4 years. In one year we manage to achieve 7 year's growth in value and so that is difficult to say to your people that you have this huge growth which by the way is not achievable only in Asian countries, you have countries in the US growing by 1%. We have 7% growing in real terms. If you translate that into nominal terms in value it's about 10% - huge growth. The other thing is that yes we have a deficit but the deficit is declining and with that same growth for next year because it is based on investment that has already taken place in the country - we expect a deficit close to 0 and we have been operating in an environment in increasing reserves. Our reserve in the last 4 years went up by almost US100 million dollars, so our savings has gone up - our expenditure is going down, our revenue and output is going up, so under that scenario it is difficult to now tell our membership that we can't a small adjustment and it's just basically to cover the inflation."

Mervin Blades, President PSU
"The unions have been in negotiations from 2008. You cannot say that we are unreasonable, it's been 5 years and so we believe that we can show where savings can be realized and so if were to get this opportunity definitely we can show where savings can happen, but we don't want that standard even if we show the savings it will still not get the salary adjustment. That's unacceptable by any standards, by anybody, regardless if the union talking or anybody else. If I am a employer and you are showing me where savings can happen for something positive to be done to the economy because public officers - of course you give a salary adjustment to public officers, if does not only impact public officers - it impact the entire economy."

"We believe that this is something that can be realized - this budget here and all we are asking for is the opportunity to show where the numbers and we want the government to operate in good faith - don't give us figures one time and then say another figure the other time, be consistent because we have been consistent when it comes to asking for what we are requesting."

"One of the things that I want to dispel; I keep hearing over the radio that we are asking for 35%, - different numbers. The salary adjustment is 10% over 3 years. Nothing in the collective agreement is not etch in stone, that's why there are negotiations - we can discuss."

We could not reach John Saldivar for comment.