BELIZE CITY, Wed. Apr. 14, 2021– In a letter dated April 13, 2021, the Ministry of the Public Service officially gave the Public Service Union its proposed schedule for the salary cuts and increment freezes that will be implemented.

The letter was sent from the Minister of Public Service, Hon. Henry Charles Usher, to the president of the Public Service Union, Gerald Henry, and it puts forward for consideration a tiered pay cut for public officers.

The letter proposes that public officers and teachers making between $12,000 and $20,000
annually receive an 8% reduction of their salary, while those making $20,000 to $40,000 a year would get a 10% cut and those public officers making $40,000 or more annually would be subjected to a 12% reduction in salary.

Also, as previously reported, increments would be frozen for a three-year period. A 25% reduction in allowances for housing and entertainment is also being considered.

The letter also outlines GoB’s proposal to pass a bill that would ensure that lending institutions extend leniency, as well as waivers, to public officers with residential mortgages. Also, government has indicated to the PSU that the proposed reductions will be reviewed each year, and, depending on the performance of the economy, GoB will consider whether the size of the salary reductions can be decreased.

The Government has given the PSU until midday on April 15th to respond to the proposed schedule.