Nadia Martin Caliz, National President, BNTU
BNTU meetings continue despite MOE’s denial of non-school day
Members of the union are being asked how they want to express their dissatisfaction on multiple issues following a 15% increase in CEOs’ salaries.
BELMOPAN, Wed. Apr. 30, 2025
The three public sector workers unions in the country had been relatively quiet since the March 12 general elections, but all that changed on April 15 when news broke of a retroactive salary increase of 15% for public service CEOs, effective March 18, 2025. Cabinet Secretary, Stuart Leslie, who wrote the March 28, 2025 memo to the Financial Secretary notifying him of the increase, is receiving an 18.5% pay raise effective March 13, 2025 — the day after the election. The CEOs’ salaries went up from $76,300 to $88,000, while the Cab Sec’s went up from $81,000 to $96,000. For the CEOs, the increase is almost $12,000 more annually. There are currently 21 chief executive officers in the public service. This means that the annual cost to the public purse for the increase in salaries for CEOs and the Cabinet Secretary would be close to $270,000.
Leslie explained that the last salary adjustment for CEOs was made seven years ago in 2018. He also reported that there are many public officers who are earning more than a CEO. Back in October 2022, when the Briceño Administration restored the living and entertainment allowance for CEOs to the full $1,500—up from the $750 it had been reduced to during the COVID-19 pandemic—Leslie argued that CEOs in the private sector earn significantly more than their public service counterparts.
In November 2023, when the CEOs sought an increase in their telephone allowance from $250 to $600, they were forced to roll back the decision following swift and intense backlash from the unions. This time, the unions are voicing their objections just as forcefully, using the opportunity to highlight every government shortfall affecting their members. The Public Service Union (PSU) called it an act of greed and hypocrisy. It wrote, “While public officers endure stagnant wages, withheld increments, and threats to their pensions, the administration has once again prioritized lining the pockets of its political loyalists over addressing the dire needs of those who serve Belize daily.” The Union further outlined that “the grotesque display of self-interest” is happening at a time when the Briceño Administration continues to owe public officers three increments that are equivalent to a 7.5% salary increase. It also pointed out that approximately 40% of public officers earn less than $20,000 annually. The Union also opined that the move would have the domino effect of increasing ministers’ salaries also to a $96,000 minimum base “to match the Cabinet Secretary’s inflated pay.”
The PSU subsequently made five demands of government: a 7.5% salary adjustment for all public officers to honour the three withheld increments; an increase in transfer grants from $1,200 to $1,500 as mandated in their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA); the retroactive payment of owed transfer grants; an urgent response to the Joint Unions’ CBA framework submitted for negotiations on November 7, 2024; and a written commitment within 21 days that the government would fulfil their demands.
When the three unions sent off a joint letter to the Prime Minister on April 22, they sought a salary increase of 8.5% for public officers and teachers in a phased approach. The Joint Unions Negotiations Team (JUNT) described the salary increase at the executive level as “a grave injustice and a blatant disregard for the principles of equity and shared sacrifice.” They also reported that the actions are perceived by their members as a betrayal of their trust and commitment. The JUNT also asked for a similar adjustment for pensioners who are on a fixed salary and must also endure the increasing cost of living. Additionally, it called for the increase of the minimum wage from $5.00 to $6.00, which is actually a manifesto promise of the 2nd Briceño Administration.
The Belize National Teachers’ Union (BNTU) was very brief when it addressed the CEOs’ salary increase. The Union called it obscene, and reminded the government about their submissions regarding their long overdue frozen increment payments. It then announced that it would discuss the matter with affiliate unions, after which their membership would be caucused for their input.
On April 24, the Union wrote to the Ministry of Education and to the managers of schools notifying them that on Wednesday, April 30, the union’s branches countrywide would hold membership meetings beginning at 9:00 a.m. National BNTU president, Nadia Martin-Caliz wrote, “We will greatly appreciate your cooperation in allowing our members to attend.”
The following day, Chief Education Officer, Yolanda Gongora denied the request, citing the tone of the memo as a directive “rather than collaborative.” She noted that “communication should always be rooted in mutual respect and understanding.” Our reports are that the wording is very similar to what has been used on previous occasions for such requests by unions. More importantly, Gongora said the Union had not provided sufficient notice time as per the Education Rules. (We are told the requirement is two weeks’ notice.) She therefore told the Union to re-submit its request, providing a more adequate notice period so that school managements could make the proper arrangements to ensure the continuity of instruction.
Today, the simultaneous branch meetings proceeded countrywide in spite of the Ministry’s April 25 memo and a follow-up memo on Tuesday, April 29, in which it declared its position that all schools must remain open today, and that “All teachers are expected to return to school immediately following the meeting.” The Ministry then added, “This request is especially important, given the recent approval of non-school days on April 7–8, 2025, to facilitate attendance at the BNTU Convention.”
On Sunday, April 27, Martin-Caliz had addressed her membership in a video statement on Facebook and rejected the accusation that their memo was disrespectful. Instead, she noted that as a responsible organization, they had notified their stakeholders so they could prepare for the absence of teachers from the classroom today. She called on the membership to come out in record numbers and vote to give the Union a mandate on how they will register their discontent about the recent developments and ongoing issues. “Don’t become discouraged because of that memo,” Martin-Caliz advised her membership. She also revealed that for the last two months, some teachers have not been receiving their salaries. According to Martin-Caliz, they were eliminated from the system because the Treasury Department was not notified that their teachers’ licenses had been renewed. She emphasized that since these matters had been previously discussed with stakeholders, the same problems should not arise again.
Coral Lord, Belize District Branch President, BNTU
In Belize City, the meetings which were held today started around 9:00 a.m. and had concluded by 11:00 a.m. District branch president, Coral Lord told Amandala that over 500 teachers attended. She described this as a “vast turnout” which would translate to overwhelming support for whatever action is taken. Voting for the Belize District also took place in Caye Caulker and San Pedro. The votes will now be tabulated and results are awaited. While Lord would not indicate the options that were presented for a vote today, leaked ballots included three phases of action if their five demands are not met. The demands on the ballot paper included the 8.5% increase in salary, the increase in the minimum wage to $6.00, and the increase of the transfer grant to $1,500 to be indicated with a circular, in addition to demands that negotiated benefits be given to union members first, and a demand that an urgent response to the CBA framework be submitted in November 2024.
In phase one, the options for union action included a go slow, sickout, and demonstration. In phase two, the options were a demonstration, a rally, and a massive 2-day shutdown; and in phase three, the proposed actions were a demonstration, rally, strike and massive 2-day shutdown.
Once the overall vote is tallied, the Union’s Council of Management will meet to decide when action would be taken.
Lord shared that her members were very disturbed by the news about the salary increase for CEOs and the Cabinet Secretary. “We have been asking for what is rightfully ours for a long time … The sentiment is that the Government of Belize look at us seriously and take us seriously and give us what we deserve. We’ve already worked for those increments … We are not being unreasonable,” she declared.
Hon. Francis Fonseca, Former Minister of Education
Former Education Minister says it is “not the time to disrupt classes”
Commenting Monday on the increasing agitation that may very well end in industrial action by the teachers, former Minister of Education, Hon. Francis Fonseca said he never saw his engagement with the BNTU as a headache. He said he always understood the Union’s mandate, but expressed hope that “good sense prevails.” He affirmed that in the last five years, the Government has “really tried to work very closely with them, with respect, in good faith.” “We’ve tried to address all of their concerns,” he said. While he says there are a number of outstanding issues, he expressed confidence that the Ministry of Education is committed to working closely with them. He added, “You know, demonstrations, protests, we understand that is a right for unions. But, you know, we are coming to the end of the school year in the next few months. This is a very critical time for our students. So, I would hope that the BNTU would appreciate that now is not the time for us to disrupt classes and have our students out of school.” Instead, he called for the two parties to sit at the table and work out their issues. He remarked that the Government side is “fully prepared to engage with them.”
For his part, Public Service Minister, Hon. Henry Usher said he has not calculated the cost to the public purse that an 8.5% increase would translate to; however, he said he cannot blame the unions for requesting one. At the same time, he said it needs to be discussed to ensure the government can have the funds necessary to cover a salary increase and their ballooning pension bill. He shared as well that committees that look at revenue enhancement and cost saving within the public service have been working, and that they produced interim reports just prior to the elections, and more are expected. Usher declared that the BNTU has the right to take industrial action, and so he believes that the next step is for the Government to call a meeting for negotiations with the Joint Unions.