Teachers will march Wednesday in Belmopan!
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Nov. 1, 2018– The Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) is up in arms and has served notice on the Minister of Education that they will not be bullied into submission, or abandonment of what they feel is their just due. Following a meeting of the BNTU branch leaders, the union briefed the media on a course of action they intend to follow, beginning next Wednesday, when they will descend on Belmopan to protest government’s refusal to budge on their demand.
The issue this time around is the unfinished business of what is known as Proposal 22, which is a leftover issue from the last collective bargaining agreement between the union and the government.
Grant-aided schools are subsidized by the government, which pays up to 70 percent of teachers’ salaries and gratuity. The union and the government had agreed to a 100 percent payment, but on Monday morning at the Prime Minister’s press conference, Minister of Education Patrick Faber went on the record saying: “The Proposal 22 that has to do with the benefits for pension and gratuity for those denominational and community schools are not on the table anymore, as the Prime Minister has said. So, the matter of pension and gratuity or that 30% is no longer a live issue, to make that absolutely clear.”
Despite having discussed the issue at a joint meeting in September, on Monday morning this week Prime Minister Dean Barrow chimed in saying, “Cabinet has looked at it and I will tell you right off that the answer to that request is no.”
The statements by the PM and the Minister of Education were the catalyst for the BNTU mobilization.
BNTU National President, Hon. Senator Elena Smith, characterized Minister Faber’s comments as being disrespectful.
“We note that in the comments that the Minister made he has been quite disrespectful of the BNTU and he continues to do so. We will not tolerate, as we have said before, the Minister being so disrespectful, and his people under him, being disrespectful to the BNTU. He is the same person who wants to be the leader of this nation. You want to be the leader and you can’t be honest? Who do you think will trust you? This Minister needs to get his act together. Don’t put things out there about the BNTU if you don’t have the proper thing in writing. We have the black and white and we can show you that. Enough of writing press releases and enough of having these press conferences because it seems as though persons think that we are playing around. But if you can see us right now this is just the beginning of what is to come. So, if you want to know what will come we will let you know what will come,” said the BNTU President.
BNTU National Secretary, Mrs. Ruth Shoman, announced that on Wednesday, November 7th the BNTU will demonstrate in Belmopan. “BNTU will demonstrate once more the importance of unity, the importance of coming together for the benefit of those that are being treated unjustly and unfairly. So, on November 7th the BNTU will gather in Belmopan to make their voices heard once more,” Shoman declared.
Hon. Smith added, “And so, what you just heard was just the start of our actions; just the start. So, this is to show them that we will no longer tolerate their disrespect, we will no longer tolerate their union busting and we want to ensure that our members are heard so that we can get for our members what it is that they deserve.”
The BNTU president was asked if the union is thinking about launching strike action and if they are prepared for that.
“All our members have gotten enough. The demonstration is the first step and from there it can only get bigger. So, whatever comes after that we are prepared, we are ready. Aren’t we?” Hon. Smith asked, as everyone in the room shouted, “Yes!’
The BNTU past president, Luke Palacio, explained the nature of the standoff between the union and the government over Proposal 22.
“Our argument from the Belize National Teachers Union, as it relates to Proposal 22, are basically these two: one, we are talking natural justice. If the teachers at the government secondary schools are getting a 100%, then we believe that our teachers and support staff and the grant-aided schools should get the same. Simply, because we teach the same subjects, we are governed by the same education rules and we are employed using the same processes; so, why the difference? We are setting the record straight. Our Proposal 22 speaks to payment of 100%, service benefits to teachers and support staff. By support staff we are talking about bursars, our janitors, our secretaries, finance officers, security personnel that work at these schools just like those at the government secondary schools. We are not prepared to move from that position because we believe that our people really and truly deserve that. So, we are not saying to GOB that they must find that 30%, but we know that if we were to really get down to the legal aspects or try and pursue that route the government in effect pays 100% of our salaries at grant-aided secondary schools based on the formula they have for the secondary school financing reform and even before that,” Palacio explained.
The BNTU president said that the union is not alone and in a message tailored especially for the Minister of Education, Hon. Smith offered, “And so, this is just for the Minister, in case he thinks BNTU is all alone; we are not alone. We will let you all know that if there is a need, we are going to be discussing with our other fellow unions to see how it is that if there is a need for any support, we can get support from them. And if it is that we need to go international for support on this matter, we will do so because we are not going to let it go. We remain strong, we remain committed to our members and we will fight to the bitter end to ensure that our members get what is rightfully theirs.”
BNTU is a part of the Joint Union Negotiations Team (JUNT) which includes the Association of Public Service Senior Managers (APSSM) and the Public Service Union (PSU). The JUNT issued a press release yesterday, saying: “At the last meeting held with the Government side on September 4th, 2018, it was agreed on both sides, that works must earnestly commence to bring the 10 year negotiations to a close by the end of the current calendar year. The JUNT finds it quite concerning and rather disheartening that Minister Faber has gone on record, at the Prime Minister’s press conference held yesterday, to state that the issue of the 70/30 agreement WILL NOT be addressed in these negotiations as it is ‘no longer a LIVE issue.’ It would seem then that our entire team, comprised of the 9 members present that day, walked away with a very different understanding than that held by the lead Minister.”
Today, Thursday, the Christian Workers Union (CWU) issued a press release expressing solidarity with the BNTU. The release said, “The Christian Workers Union (CWU) is in solidarity with the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) in their extremely just request to negotiate key components of Proposal 22, and the issue of Hardship Allowance for its members with the Ministry of Education.”
The CWU release added, “To declare an issue to be off the negotiating table, despite the fact that all the Members of the Joint Negotiating Team have unanimously stated that this was not the understanding, is an act of bad faith.”
“CWU supports the fight of the BNTU to secure fair and equitable benefits for the educators of our country. These Brothers and Sisters have earned our collective respect by their selfless efforts and sacrifices. CWU calls on the Ministry of Education to recalibrate and get on a just course towards a finalized Collective Agreement that will address these outstanding matters.”
“CWU also calls on its Members to understand the concerns of the teachers. This understanding will show clearly that their struggles are our struggles, as we share the common values of Unionism, and to be willing to demonstrate that solidarity. Such an opportunity comes next Wednesday, November 7th, 2018 with the planned BNTU March from the Belmopan.
Comprehensive High School, to the Belmopan Civic Centre followed by a rally at the Civic Centre.”
The Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV) also expressed solidarity with the BNTU in a press release it issued today in social media. The release said, “The BTV expresses its solidarity with the Belize National Teachers Union in the dispute with the Minister of Education who is trying to deprive the teachers of their hardship allowance.”
“Teachers like police, soldiers, nurses and public officers are an important part of our social fabric and ought not to be disrespected and deprived of their well-deserved allowance.”
The release ends saying, “The BTV not only supports the BNTU but calls on all the other workers unions and patriotic groups to join the BNTU in its righteous protest on November 7, 2018 in Belmopan.”