“8.5 Is 8.5”: BNTU President Slams GOB

President of the Belize National Teachers’ Union (BNTU), Nadia Caliz, delivered a fiery public address this weekend. Caliz condemned what she described as government attempts to politicise and discredit the union’s call for the 8.5% salary adjustment.

“8.5 is 8.5. Nothing will discourage this movement,” Caliz said. She accused the government of waging a “smear campaign” against the unions and trying to manipulate public perception through what she described as misleading advertisements. “They can put out 1,000 videos… but their very own people are not supporting them,” she said.

Caliz also pushed back against claims that fulfilling the salary adjustment would cost the government $100 million. “Let’s look at how it started $13 million, then $20 million, then $40 million, then $60 million, now $100 million. The politics they’re trying to use to distort the pain and suffering of the Belizean people will not work,” she said.

She said that teachers, along with other workers, bore the brunt of the country’s economic recovery through frozen increments and a 10% wage cut. “Three frozen increments and a 10% cut. Look at your salary now, put it back in, and see what you contributed to the rebounding of this country,” she challenged fellow public officers.