But, whoever takes the helm does so in a time when the Public Service is in the throes of the most prolonged industrial action in its modern history.
And so is the BNTU. They are expected to stage a protest at the National Assembly in Belmopan tomorrow, to coincide with the sitting of the House of Representatives.
Tomorrow's protest will mark the end of the 5th week on strike for the Belize National Teachers Union - the longest in the union's history - and the 4th week on strike for the Public Service Union.
And, the worst part is that Government just seems to be ignoring them. They have not called the unions back to the table, nor are they engaging with them on any other level.
Today, Fonseca again outlined the government's last offer - and the unions response, or, as the case may be, non-response:
Hon. Francis Fonseca - Member, Ministerial Consultation Team "As you know, the Government sent to the Joint Unions a letter of undertakings, which set out, in very clear and specific terms our commitments. We then had a follow-up meeting, the government's team along with the joint union representatives. We had a follow-up meeting to discuss that letter of undertaking. Coming out of that meeting, the unions asked for some clarifications, and so subsequently, the Prime Minister sent another letter, a letter of clarification, which dealt with specific issues that they had raised about the reduction in the workweek, the 5-hour reduction in the workweek. We confirmed and affirmed that this was part of our commitment and undertakings. They asked about the National Trade Union Congress of Belize representation on the Board of the National Bank. Again, the Prime Minister, in his letter of clarification, confirmed that this was indeed a part of the government's undertakings. And then, they asked for clarification about whether or not the issue of the forbearance period was limited to residential mortgages or extended beyond that, and we clarified again in that letter that it was not limited to residential mortgages. It extended to the entire portfolio of mortgages and personal loans as well. So, the unions, at our last meeting, undertook to respond in writing to those letters, and we're awaiting that response. We have not had any response from them as yet. We gave to them formally the legislation dealing with civil asset recovery, unexplained wealth, and we also gave to them the protected disclosure bill - whistle-blower bill. They had committed as it relates to the protected disclosure whistle-blower bill to return their views on that bill by May 18th. We have still have not received their views on that bill."
