Unions meet on the down low

[NewsWhore]

Diario Libre writes that transport union leaders and government officials met privately for over three hours yesterday and said that another meeting could take place today. Diario Libre points out that the government initiated the contact in hopes of re-starting the talks that collapsed earlier this month. The lack of dialogue has led to tension with the unions and earlier this week the situation boiled over during a strike when a homemade bomb was thrown into a bus, injuring seven people, including a pregnant woman. Diario Libre adds that even though the government is willing to work out a solution, Santo Domingo prosecutor Perfecto Acosta is not overlooking this week's bus bombing. Charges have been filed against three men in connection with the incident while the prosecutor for the First Court of Appeals of Santo Domingo, Leonel Sosa, wants to interview union leaders Juan Hubieres, Antonio Marte and Ramon Perez Figuereo. Hubieres said that the union heads would go to the prosecutor's office at 9am today even though they haven't been formally summoned. Hubieres continued his comments by saying that a mobilization plan is in the works for the beginning of next week and dismissed Office for the Reorganization of Transit (OPRET) head Diandino Pena's threats. Pena said that the government would impound all Plan Renove buses if drivers continued to strike, but Hubieres said that this would have little effect on what they were trying to do. He says that Plan Renove buses only transport about 1.5% of the total (57,000 users) and that he has more than 57,000 buses and 50,000 cars under his control that weren't bought through Plan Renove.
Not all is going well for Hubieres and the unions. Hoy explains that 30 drivers unions from the Cibao region have disassociated themselves from the Conatra and Fenatrano unions because of the way that their leaders have handled the negotiations.

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