N.T.U.C.B. to Boycott Future I.M.F. Consultations

The National Trade Union Congress of Belize has written to the International Monetary Fund informing economist Jaime Guajardo that the umbrella organization is effectively boycotting all further consultations with the I.M.F.  The decision by the N.T.U.C.B. follows the actions of the I.M.F. in which it has been treated, “as a checkbox.  As a concerned global citizen who represents laborers, we are deeply troubled by the negative recommendations towards hard-working public sector workers, teachers, police, doctors, nurses, firemen, etc.  The negative impact that the I.M.F.’s interventions have had on the working class, economies, and people of developing countries within the Caribbean and Latin American Region is of serious concern”.  The letter to Guajardo goes on to say that the N.T.U.C.B., “aligns itself with the criticisms that the I.M.F.’s structural adjustment programs that impose harsh austerity measures on debtor nations, lead to widespread poverty, unemployment, and social unrest”.