BELIZE CITY, Fri. Apr. 16, 2021– On Friday, outside the Central Bank of Belize, a group of teachers picketed in protest of Government’s salary cuts, while inside the building, on that same day, three Cabinet ministers and a minister of state were meeting with union leaders in an effort to find some common ground.

The meeting, which started around 10 o’clock that morning, concluded at about 3:00 in the afternoon. Union leaders and ministers were then seen leaving through the back door exit of the Central Bank building, evading the waiting media.

Some photos and video footage of the departure of the meeting’s participants from the Central Bank building show that all members of the Joint Union Negotiation team were present, and there were four representatives present at the meeting from the Government side: Deputy Prime Minister, Cordel Hyde; Finance Minister of State, Chris Coye; Minister of Public Service, Henry Charles Usher; and Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca.

Neither the unions nor the Government have made an official statement to let the public know what was discussed in the meeting, but reports are that the unions met with their membership shortly after to share with them what was discussed.