B.N.T.U. President, “We Consider This to Be Disrespect”

The Belize National Teachers Union (B.N.T.U.) is urging its members to attend a crucial national meeting on Wednesday morning. Despite the Ministry of Education denying their request for time off, B.N.T.U. President Nadia Caliz is pushing forward with the meeting. She’s calling on members to take a stand, even if it means a salary deduction for the day. The meeting’s purpose is for the union’s executive to present its list of demands to the Government of Belize, especially considering the recently approved salary increase for government CEOs and the Cabinet Secretary. Members will also be voting on the way forward, with strike action being one of the options on the table. Caliz shared detailed plans during her appearance on Open Your Eyes this morning, emphasizing the importance of unity and action.

 

Nadia Caliz, President, B.N.T.U.

“The bubbling pot, that is what I call it, because the pot is bubbling. It takes you all the way back to 2020 when the teachers experienced a salary cut and all of that. We do understand that during that time it was COVID, and the economy was not performing at the same level. They were given, because one of the promise was a bonus. They were given a hundred dollars one year, if the economy was doing good. So, we got that hundred dollars one year, one December, one time payment, that is it. Nothing else after that. Later on the unions lobbied with government and they had the reinstatement of ten percent, but on the heels of that you had social security deductions and other things. So you were not really getting anything. So when you have the news of CEOs getting that bumped up, they are asking me as their leader who says wait, we are at the negotiation table, we are getting this done, and you know what they said to me is that the only reason we are having patients is because you are new to the table. You have been there for a while, you think this is patients, we consider this to be disrespect.”