BNTU Membership Vote on What Actions to Take Against GoB

Across the country this morning, teachers were outside of their classrooms and students remained at home for the day. That’s because the Belize National Teachers’ Union held meetings with its district branches to vote on how to collectively push the government to meet their demands. These include a salary adjustment and an immediate increase in the minimum wage from five to six dollars per hour, among other things. The union believes that if government CEOs can receive a salary increase, then teachers should too, given the significant sacrifices they make to advance education in Belize. Belize District Branch President, Coral Lord, spoke with the media at the close of the meeting. News Five’s Marion Ali filed this report.

 

Voice of Speaker: Cayo B.N.T.U. Branch

“Your presence here speaks of the support, the trust, and the engagement you are willing to take the appropriate actions to ensure that government meets its obligation to the public sector, workforce, and for us to register our discontent. We have been complaining; we have been saying now it’s the time to register it.”

 

 

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Today, the Belize National Teachers Union held meetings with members from across the country to gauge their stance on how to proceed with the government. The union argues that the high cost of living, combined with recent salary increases for government executives, justifies their demand for salary adjustment. They are asking for an 8.5 percent increase.

 

Coral Lord, President, B.N.T.U., Belize District

“The 8.5 is simply speaking to an adjustment for cost of living that our members, all of us are feeling the pinch. The rise in cost of items or money doesn’t have the same strength and the same value it had. When we go to the store, we see that daily, the price of items are going up, and so that 8.5 is simply speaking to that.”

 

 

Among the union’s five demands is an immediate increase in the minimum wage from five to six dollars. This was a promise made by the government in its planBelize 2.0 manifesto. In a letter dated April twenty-second, the Joint Union Negotiating Team (JUNT), which represents the Belize National Teachers Union (B.N.T.U.), the Public Service Union, and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers, reached out to the Prime Minister. The letter highlighted the disparity between the salary increases for CEOs and the sacrifices made by frontline public officers, calling the salary hike a grave injustice. The JUNT also urged for a similar adjustment for pensioners to align with the salary adjustments of their members.

 

 

Coral Lord, President of the Belize District branch of the BNTU, shared that the turnout at Swift Hall for its members did not include those from San Pedro and Caye Caulker. The teachers voted on several options for their next course of action, as shown here on this ballot. Lord mentioned that the turnout in Belize City reflected the same level of concern expressed in the letter.

 

 

 

Coral Lord

“Today I would want to put the numbers more around 500 plus. And so I know that we will get, uh, overwhelming support from our members when it comes to whatever action that is needed to be taken. Our members have been agitating for their frozen increments. They have been asking for their salary or upgrades that they have already worked for and have earned. They have been asking for some allowances that have yet to be given to them. In light of all of this and the government is giving raises to other employees, we wanted to find out from them what is their position in respect to this and what they want us as the union that represents them to do.”

 

Lord mentioned that the various district branch presidents will inform the BNTU executive about how their members voted on the next steps to take. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education posted a response on their Facebook page, stating that they are working to create a system that supports educators, not hinders them. They also announced that digital allowance and increment forms will be implemented by July. Additionally, the Ministry shared that all secondary school administrator positions and half of primary school administrator positions have been filled, with 1,300 primary and secondary teacher appointments finalized. Marion Ali for News Five.

 

By news time, the B.N.T.U. was waiting for the results to be handed in by three of its branches to reveal how its membership countrywide voted overall.