The National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) – the umbrella alliance of the nine trade unions in Belize – is due to meet in a few weeks to discuss the Revised Gender Policy 2013.
As Amandala has previously reported, the Belize National Teachers’ Union (BNTU), one of the most prominent arms of the Congress, has already stated public concerns on the new policy, and at last report, the BNTU said that it has been canvassing views and information from government and activist groups before putting its formal position on record.
NTUCB president Dylan Reneau told our newspaper today that the Congress has heard presentations from Government officials, as well as concerned citizens.
He said that the General Council, made up of about 34 members from 9 unions, as well as executive members, is due to meet later this month, after which the NTUCB will take a formal position.
As to what comes next: whether they will seek court action, protest or write Prime Minister Dean Barrow, that plan of action has yet to be decided, said Reneau.
Reneau said that they want to have a general consensus before making any public declarations about the revised policy.
In June, the BNTU’s Council of Management issued a call on the Government to “put an immediate halt to any further action on this policy.” For one, the BNTU said, they were never consulted and there are several aspects of the document which concern them.
For instance, BNTU national president Luke Palacio had told us that they are concerned about how education is redefined on page 24 of the document—specifically, in reference to the objective of redefining education “as a process of lifelong learning and to act as a primary vehicle for transforming gender relations across the life cycle.”
Palacio said the BNTU is concerned that the policy shift “can have negative effects on family, religious freedom and, of course, on freedom of speech.”
He said that the policy suggests that if an individual is not careful about what is said on the matter of sexual orientation—in today’s context, taken to suggest more than normal sexual orientation and extending to include “lesbian, gay, transsexual or bisexual” (LGBT)—one could be taken to court.
The NTUCB and the BNTU have reserved their formal positions until they are done with consultations on the Revised Gender Policy 2013.