And we asked Henry if we could expect a large crowd gathered in front of the House of Culture during Thursday's meeting. He explained that there are no plans for a demonstration, but chances are there may be a small crowd, like the one we saw today. About 25 BNTU and PSU members marched from Battlefield Park to the House of Culture and protested outside while the Cabinet members met inside. It's a scene that has been happening the past few Tuesdays, as the unions hoist their placards, chant on the bullhorn and sing their solidarity songs.
But no matter how small, it is still a part of the ongoing strike - one that seems to have no end in sight. While there is speculation that the government and the unions may be able to overcome their impasse on Thursday, ending the strike on Friday…we won't hold our breaths. But Henry did say he remains hopeful and offered suggestions in place of the compensation that would allow a resolution.
Gerald Henry, President, PSU
"I'm always hopeful that the issue would be over sooner than later. Most of it is in the government as you know they are the ones who can pretty much make or break the impasse and some of the things we are asking for really and truly don't have to impact on government expenditure or the domestic debt any at all."
"Butane prices, they could perhaps reduce butane prices, they could perhaps subsidize the workers bus that we have, two of the workers bus we have presently that are priority buses for our public officers and teachers - if those things are added up, making sure that they regulate and enforce the price in the grocery stores to ensure that these merchants don't take advantage of the situation. As you may have heard, I'm not certain, that ramen increased from I think fifty cents to a dollar and twenty five cents or something to that effect right now. And that only happen because merchants are taking advantage of the situation because it's the popular source of a meal for a lot of persons especially in the lower brackets so what they do is that they increase their prices because the demand has increased and it's unfair ad those are some of the things that we are trying to get the government to lobby for and work with us."
