The Government Negotiating Team (GNT) met Thursday morning with Labour Commissioner, Cyrus Griffith, for a briefing prior to conciliation talks set for Friday afternoon.
In the meeting, the GNT complied with the commissioner’s request and laid out the factual basis for the offer made to the unions. The talks were extensive and lasted about an hour.
By contrast, a similar pre-briefing with unions’ negotiating team did not materialise as the Labour Commissioner waited for 1.5 hours before the unions’ delegation showed up. On arrival, the unions presented a letter to the Labour Commissioner, requesting that he use his good office to encourage the disputing parties to return to the negotiating table.
The unions’ negotiating team did not comply with the Labour Commissioner’s request to outline the factual basis for their proposal. The engagement between the Labour Commissioner and the unions’ negotiating team lasted under four minutes.
At this time, it is unknown whether the unions will accept the invitation to the conciliation meeting set for Friday afternoon. The GNT has confirmed its acceptance of the Labour Commissioner’s invitation and will be present at the meeting tomorrow.
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