by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. July 14, 2025
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) held its 59th annual Rally and March on Saturday, July 12, in Belize City.
The event kicked off at the Belize City Civic Center, continued through the streets of the old capital, and concluded at the Battlefield Park on Albert Street, where the rally was held.
“We’re out here to show what unionism is about. There are a lot of issues in this country right now, and as workers, we need to see that we address them; and this is the best way of doing that, by showing that workers do stand up when it’s time, and unity is important for us,” said Ella Waight, President of the NTUCB.
“We have to make sure that the government is accountable for the tax money that we pay into our government. So, that is why we’re here, to make a stand for what we need to see improve in this country. What better day to do it than on our anniversary,” she added.
As Waight mentioned, an important objective of the rally is to get the government to take accountability for their actions. For a while, the Joint Union Negotiating Team (JUNT) was at an impasse with the government regarding salary increases; however, in recent days, several unions have agreed to the proposed offer by the government. Waight expressed that while some of the unions have accepted the offer, it didn’t diminish the attendance at the NTUCBs’ rally.
“The JUNT Union is not leading the charge; this is an NTUCB initiative. Their issue was at the forefront because that was being negotiated at the time, and I don’t think we’ve lost momentum. Those people who believe that we, as public servants, have gotten our negotiation through, and gotten a deal, may not feel to show up today; but there was a mandate that they do not want to end at this point, to push for good governance, and to push to make sure we have a country that respects unionism and the dignity of workers in this country. This isn’t the last time you’ll see us,” she added.
“The 8.5% salary increase would not be an issue if corruption were not an issue. If people were doing what they were supposed to be doing, we wouldn’t be having the sort of issues in this country that make people want to protest,” said Glenfield Dennison, Senator for the NTUCB.
Showing their solidarity in the rally was the University of Belize Faculty and Staff Union (UBFSU), as its president, Julianne Pasos, expressed the need for immediate action on their demand for a 9% salary increase from government, as the current subvention isn’t enough.
“We are preparing to meet with the board to discuss that. Our faculty and staff are demoralized at this point. The 9% is ten years. In 2015, when we got our 5%, I received an email reminding me that we were negotiating for 14%, and we only got five, and we did not get the additional 9%. So, this is long in the making. So, our faculty and staff are going to do whatever it takes to get it,” she said.
The NTUCB represents twelve unions throughout the country.