by Charles Gladden

BELMOPAN, Wed. May 7, 2025

After learning that members of the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) will be demonstrating at the inaugural sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate in Belmopan, which is set for Friday, May 9, the Ministry of Education (MOE) says that schools should stay open despite the planned national demonstration.

In an official memorandum circulated on Tuesday, May 6, the MOE stated that all schools are to remain open on Friday, May 9, 2025, following Rule 102(4). The memo arises from the BNTU’s decision to initiate one of three protest phases, demanding an 8.5% salary increase in light of the rising cost of living and salary increase for government CEOs and the Cabinet Secretary.

_{Nadia Caliz, BNTU President}

Responding to the memo, BNTU President Nadia Caliz said that schools remaining open is an obligation of the Ministry, but believes the MOE is using this tactic to reduce the union’s public numbers.

_{Hon. Oscar Requeña, Ministry of Edcation}

“The Ministry will send that out because they have a responsibility to Education, and management will work with them, and send out letters telling you that schools will be open, and asking administrators for the list of names for those who are going. They need to know that … I love the fact that the memos are coming out, and that is the same concerted effort we want to see from you and the Ministry as it pertains to our teachers getting their income tax. This is the same effort I want to see concerning my teachers waiting for their increments; if we can work together on this, we can work together on that,” she said.

And speaking directly to her union members, she continued, “… Maybe they will tell management under the table not to pay you for the day. You need to be prepared to take the stand that you voted for. Do what you need to do to recover if they go that way, because you do all that for these schools. In the same way, I want to see the management coming together to fix the classroom to get rid of the woodlice, the bats from the ceiling, and to provide suitable chairs for students,” Caliz said.

The Public Service Union (PSU) will join the BNTU for a joint demonstration against the Briceño Administration. Dean Flowers, President of the PSU, expressed that they are supporting the BNTU as they share similar issues in the public sector.

The BNTU’s three-phase plan starts with Friday’s public demonstration; Phase 2 is a two-day national shutdown; and Phase 3 is a full strike.