NTUCB Calls Workers to Unite Despite Protest Denial

And despite being told no, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize says this fight is far from over. Union leaders are now calling on all workers, unionized or not, to stand together as they move ahead with plans to demonstrate outside the Social Security Board office in Belize City, where a key board meeting is expected to take place. The NTUCB insists this is not an attack on the Social Security Board, but a call for transparency and accountability over decisions that directly affect workers’ contributions and their futures. According to NTUCB President Ella Waight, this moment rises above party politics, reminding Belizeans that before red or blue, we are workers first, and Belizeans first.

 

Ella Waight, President, National Trade Union Congress of Belize

“We find it necessary to protest in front of the Social Security Office in Belize City where we understand the board meeting would be held. Of course we know they can change venue. That’s an option they have, but we understand that’s where usually board meetings are held just to encourage because we have a sense that the board members there are very cautious of this investment. So we want to encourage them. This is not to say we are going against Social Security Board. We are encouraging them to please do the right thing. Wait until you get the information, then share that information with us. Again, as workers and even employers who contribute to the scheme have a right. NTUCB are workers of this country. So if you work, even if you’re not in a unionized organization, if you work we represent you – your concerns. Every other thing that we lobby for with labor department when it comes to policies with the Labor Complaints Tribunal that deals with workers who have been unlawfully terminated or dismissed, it’s for workers. It’s for you, the workers. So it’s time that you come out, even if, like I always say, even if for ten minutes you stand up there with us. Show that support, that I am with the National Trade Union Congress of Belize because I am a worker. I’m a Belizean first, and there are times that we have to take a stand. It doesn’t have to deal with red or blue. You could be a PUP, you could be a UDP, but it has to be I’m a Belizean first.”

 

Beyond a protest permit, the NTUCB says this is about workers showing up, even briefly, to remind decision‑makers that Social Security funds belong to the people who earn them, not to politics or party lines.