G.O.B. Commits to Paying Outstanding Debt to Teachers

The Briceño administration is stepping up for teachers, promising to cover increments and outstanding allowances within the next nine days. This commitment comes after the Belize National Teachers Union (B.N.T.U.) took a strong stance last week over unpaid allowances. You might remember B.N.T.U. President Nadia Caliz stating that the union was gearing up for street protests in January 2025. On Monday, Chief Executive Officer Dian Maheia responded to Caliz, acknowledging the letter sent to Minister of Education Francis Fonseca on December 6th. C.E.O. Maheia highlighted the significant achievements of the union’s partnership, including resolving the Collective Bargaining Agreement Proposal 22. She also admitted that the current system is outdated and bogged down by bureaucracy.  Earlier today, we spoke with Caliz.

 

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

“Yesterday, the ministry responded to our written request.  They stated that they will provide teachers with their increments and outstanding allowance by the twentieth of December.  The only grey area for the union, though, is that we don’t know if the teachers who have outstanding increments from 2015, you some from 2018, if all of those years will be covered.  That’s the only grey area, but we are happy.  We are happy that the teachers have gotten what they wanted.”

 

Isani Cayetano

“I presume that this effectively staves off whatever action would have been planned for January 2025.”

 

Nadia Caliz

“I am not supposed to say yes or no to that question at all.  There are other parts to it.  First, the increment and then we need to sit down and dialogue concerning the change of the system.  Since the black and white did not state a date for us to meet, as a responsible union, we wrote them a letter requesting a meeting next week to discuss how we can address this antiquated system that has our teachers that has our teachers suffering, the compensation for those who were unfairly removed from the system due to CPD issues which had a lot to do more with the ministry than the teacher because the teacher met the criteria.  When the ministry did not furnish a license, the managements, based on the rules and procedures in place, the managements removed them from the payroll.”