Earlier we show you a meeting of the Foreign Ministers at the border out west, but this evening, the Education Minister and the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance met with the Unions at the House of Culture in Belize City.
And tonight, reliable reports indicate that - as expected, right after the municipal election, government is pushing hard for a wage cut - and it hopes to conclude that discussion by next week - in advance of presenting the budget on March 26th.
The meeting - which was held at the House of Culture - finished just before news time tonight, and we were able to speak with the Financial Secretary, Joseph Waight. While he couldn't give us many details since the situation is still fluid, he said that the two parties are working together to come to an amicable solution.
Joseph Waight - Financial Secretary
"While I can't speak too much on the specifics because it's still on going but I have to say it the meeting today was cordial, amicable, respectful, I think we made some progress. Both sides listened to each other and understand each other's position and the idea is basically we're in a partnership together, the government is the public service the public service is the government, so we're trying to hold things together for the improvement in trying to come to an arrangement where we can correct this fiscal imbalance. I'm not sure of the timeline, it's still not hammered down but yes we have to have some savings in our expenditure, we're basically trying to reduce the amount of money we have to borrow. So yes, there will be some reductions and of course unions are pointing out areas in the public service where they think we can find cost savings as well, so it's a joint relationship."
Reporter
"What are they looking at in terms of the government what they can do to cut back on expenditure?"
Joseph Waight
"In the government we're trying to see how we can cut back on goods and services without affecting services to the public. Looking also at wages and salaries is a big part of the government spending, looking at that as well to see if there is any efficiencies there where we can get in. So, nothing is ruled except we have to pay our debt, pensions are not on the table, that's sacred. So, we're looking at just about everything else that makes up the budget to see where we can trim and cut, also enhance revenue on the other side to close that gap."
Reporter
"Did the unions make any suggestions in terms of how they will want to take this?"
Joseph Waight
"Unions have brought forward, we're still considering, we can't get into any details right now because it is a dynamic process but we're listening to them very carefully and we value their partnership and we value their input."
The government also presented a 20-paged document to the unions based on information they requested on the financial situation of GOB and the measures they are taking to cut back.
