The voices of retired public officers rang loud and clear across the country this morning, as members of the Association of Beneficiaries and Retired Public Officers staged a coordinated protest, calling on the Government of Belize to deliver long-overdue benefits that have been withheld for nearly three decades.
The demonstration follows last week’s national protest by union members in Belmopan, escalating tensions between public sector workers and the government. Now, retirees — some in wheelchairs, others leaning on walking sticks — are making it known that they, too, demand justice.
Gathering at Battlefield Park in Belize City, and in four other districts, the retirees sent a unified message: they refuse to be forgotten.
“Look at the walking stick there. Look at the wheelchair behind me,” said Burndina Eck, a retired public officer who joined the protest despite health challenges. “Many of us have to limp our wheel out here and we still haven’t gotten our money. And we are hungry. We need to eat.”
At the heart of their grievance is a trust fund — valued at over $8 million — managed by the Public Service Workers Trust. The retirees claim that this fund represents two years of withheld salary increments dating back to 1995. They are now demanding that the trust be dissolved and the money distributed.
Senator Glenfield Dennison of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize stood in solidarity with the retirees, decrying the government’s inaction.
“This cause is one where former public officers who have given their entire lives and careers to the service of the government and people of Belize are literally dying before they are able to collect on a benefit,” Dennison said. “The cry of these retired public officers is simply this: we are ill, we are ailing. Our colleagues have died. We need the proceeds and the benefits of this trust.”
According to the Association, at least 65 retirees in the Belize District have passed away without receiving a cent from the fund.