by William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)
The Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) demanded an 8.5 percent increase in pay, when they staged a peaceful demonstration of over 3,000 teachers in pea-green T-shirts, supported by a few members of the Public Service Union in their yellow T-shirts in Belmopan, when the PUP government held its inaugural session of the House of Representatives and the Senate on the steps and parking lot of the Sir Edney Cain Administration Building in Belmopan last Friday morning, May 9.
The teachers’ clamor could not disturb the National Assembly meeting, as the new Commissioner of Police Richard Rosado PhD had ordered his men to set a perimeter over 200 meters from the House meeting, confining the educators’ demonstration to the Ring Road. The Police were loaded for bear, but were relieved that the teachers’ protest march remained orderly and without incident.
The teachers were calling for natural justice, to be paid their overdue salary increments and allowances, which they say they have already earned, and for an across the board 8.5 percent increase. The demonstration, which swelled to record numbers, was the response of the teachers when they learned of the $18,000 pay increase given to Chief Executive Officers in each government ministry and the Cabinet Secretary, which were authorized the day after the General Elections returned the PUP administration to office. They asked, how can it be that the CEOs got a raise which they had not asked for, when thousands of teachers have been waiting for their salary adjustments from the PUP were elected in 2020?
Despite the rising cost of living, many dedicated teachers take money out of their household budgets to spend on posters, charts and other teaching aids in their classrooms, teaching materials that are necessary to help their students learn. The cost of these teaching materials, which has increased because of inflation, is not covered by the shoe string budgets they get from government. When the teachers took stock of the sacrifices they make for their young students, and the largesse bestowed on the CEOs, their disgust and response was amplified! The teachers’ many sacrifices were recognized by many civil-society and non-governmental organizations, such as the Toledo Alcaldes Association and the Christian Workers Union, who came out in solidarity with the educators’ cause. Even former Minister of Education, Hon. Senator Patrick Faber came out in support of the teachers, though not all welcomed his presence, as he had been on the other side of the negotiating table in 2020.
After the House meeting, Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño announced that he had authorized officials within the Ministry of Education to meet with the unions on Tuesday to address their wage demands, noting that of the $1,782 million to be spent in this year’s Budget, the government has allotted $503 million for teachers’ and public officers’ salaries, and that an 8.5 percent pay hike would add about $63 million more to General Expenditure.
The ceremonial, open air session of the National Assembly went without a hitch, with the new Senators taking their oath of office inside the building, before the new Members of the House took their Oath of Office in the joint session of the National Assembly, before the Governor General H.E. Dame Froyla Tzalam’s reading of the Government’s speech. Speaker of the House, Hon. Valerie Woods is not the first woman to sit in her chair, but in the presence of a female Governor General, she also welcomed the first woman Leader of the Opposition, remarking on the small numbers of the fairer sex in the upper echelons of government.
For his part, Prime Minister Briceño repeated the promises of Plan Belize 2.0, when he addressed the assembly, to alleviate and eradicate poverty, improve education, expand health care, modernize infrastructure and deliver better health care for all, while ensuring the personal safety and security of all Belizean citizens. If his promises sounded a little hollow in the wake of the first aerial hijacking in Belize’s history and a state of emergency to crack down on gang violence, citizens await for deeds to prove the truth of his words.