BTL Workers Divided Over Speednet Deal, Union Silent on Severance Fight

There’s a growing split tonight inside the BTL family, between former employees, now united under the Belize Communication Workers for Justice, and the current staff represented by the Belize Communication Workers Union. On Monday, the BCWJ came out strongly against BTL’s proposed consolidation with Speednet. But inside the company, it’s a completely different story: an internal poll shows nearly eight out of ten employees, seventy‑nine percent, supporting the acquisition. What’s also raising eyebrows is the BCWU’s silence on the former workers’ fight for their severance, even after a clear ruling from the Caribbean Court of Justice. Multiple attempts to get a response from the union’s leadership have gone unanswered. So, we turned to two former BCWU presidents, Emily Turner and Michael Augustus, to ask whether they’re disappointed in what many see as a lack of solidarity from the union they once led. Here’s what they told us.

 

Emily Turner, Past President, Belize Communication Workers Union

“I think if they would speak out on this matter there is serious victimization that will happen to them, not can, will happen to them. So they have to be thoughtful. Miss Ruth used that word. They have to be thoughtful about these things but they also have to be thoughtful that these things like restructuring and efficiencies will affect them. It will surely affect them. We have seen these things in the past.”

 

 

 

Michael Augustus, Past President, Belize Communication Workers Union

“Because of us pushing and the ruling from the CCJ, they are now entitled and assured that they will be paid. However, there are still radicals in BTL, but this set of radical people here who are now speaking out were the ones who would jump out there. Big belly, expecting the baby anytime, huh? Patty? Yeah. They are not afraid. We were the ones who stood up. However, they may very well – BTL, we have to be careful because they are some vindictive people managing BTL now up their top and they may want to say, okay, unu want severance and they the kick up and unu the join them too? We could sit down and negotiate and take unu out from the pension. We don’t know what they’re up to. I can say we may be disappointed that they’re not speaking out, but I would almost want to assure that we can get their support when we really need it. We still have some plug pullers in there.”

 

So, while former BTL employees press on with their fight, the union representing current staff remains publicly silent, caught, it seems, between fear of backlash and caution about what comes next inside the company. And with a major acquisition on the table, that divide within the BTL family is only getting wider.