PRESIDENTS of the island’s two most powerful trade unions – Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the National Workers Union (NWU) – met yesterday with Spanish Ambassador Jesus Silva to discuss issues affecting workers at the Fiesta hotel site in Hanover.

Silva had invited BITU President Ruddy Spencer and NWU President Vincent Morrison to the Spanish Embassy in Kingston for informal discussions on the simmering industrial relations climate at the hotel being built by Spanish investors.

“It was an extremely good meeting,” Morrison told the Observer after the talks.

He said that both unions reassured the ambassador that the trade union movement welcomed the Spanish investments in tourism, and wished to co-operate with the contractors. However, he said that they expressed their concerns about the working conditions at the Fiesta site.

Morriosn said the ambassador promised to look into a proposal from the unions to pursue a programme of training of Jamaicans in tourism in Spain.

Today, Labour Minister Derrick Kellier is to chair a meeting at his ministry between the developers of the Fiesta site and the major contractors aimed at addressing a number of work-related issues.

The unions had threatened to lock down the site if there was no response, by today, to their demands for a meeting with Fiesta and its major contractors.

They requested the meeting to address issues such as late payment of wages, lack of pay advice, overtime pay, safety equipment, lunch room facilities and health coverage.

More than 2,000 workers are employed on the site.