One day after the Bermuda Industrial Union announced their contract with KFC was cancelled, both sides emerged from a meeting with Government Labour Relations Officer Glen Fubler vowing to take whatever was put on the table back to their teams with no comment until then.The meeting which lasted for close to two hours apparently made some headway in the dispute that saw negotiations draw to an abrupt end.And it was clear that neither side is talking until the latest proposals are discussed on both ends.When contacted by The Royal Gazette BIU President Chris Furbert described the meeting as productive.Apart from that he confirmed that the results of this latest round of talks will be put to the union’s General Council at 9.15am at union headquarters.KFC issued a statement of their own, taking issue with a number of statements made by the union leader yesterday.When asked if he had anything to say in response to that statement, Mr Furbert said he will reserve comment until after he talks to the General Council, and that a statement may be issued on Thursday or Friday.That statement released at 3.24pm yesterday by KFC’s lead negotiator Graham Redford stated that KFC notified the BIU, as the representatives of its unionised employees, in writing on February 1st, this year, of its intention to “modify” the existing terms of the existing collective bargaining agreement which was due to expire on April 15th.According to Mr Redford, negotiations began that same month “in good faith, but unfortunately KFC was not able to reach and agreement on the requested changes”.The statement goes on to say that on September 9th, KFC issued the BIU with written notice of its intention to “terminate the collective agreement pursuant to Article 38.That section of the agreement states: “This agreement shall come into effect on April 15th, 2008 and shall remain in effect for a period of not less than three years and thereafter shall continue in effect provided that anytime after January 14th, 2011, three months notice of termination or modification may be given by either party hereto.”Mr Redford noted at this point that “the effective date of termination, being December 9th was confirmed in the same notice”.According to KFC the two sides failed to agree on a number of key points which KFC’s Board of Directors deemed “essential for KFC to be economically sustainable” as the company moves to “reform its cost structure over the long term and remain a viable enterprise”.Like many other businesses in Bermuda Mr Redford stated, “KFC has experienced a trend of declining sales and increased operating costs leading to net losses”.Basically he said KFC did not anticipate “the economic realities that all business in Bermuda, especially those in the hospitality industry are facing today.”The statement goes on to say that while the company remains committed to its staff, a recent review of details of the Restaurant Pension Fund “prompted KFC Management to make an application to the Pension Commission to transfer employees’ pension participation from the Restaurant Pension Fund to an existing registered pension scheme.“KFC believes this is the appropriate and prudent course of action to protect the interest of its employees.”The company will continue to collect employee pension contributions, and “set aside employer contributions” in accordance with the law.And pending approval from the Pensions Commission, “funds so collected will be held in escrow for ultimate deposit to employee pension accounts.”“Now is not the time for emotions to rule,” Mr Redford said, “Bermudian staff, Bermudian owned companies and Bermuda itself are suffering, and we must all work together to find solutions to our shared challenges.”