Former BTL Workers Turn Up the Heat at PM’s Office

Tensions flared again this morning as members of the Belize Communication Workers for Justice took to the streets, staging another protest outside Belize Telemedia Limited’s headquarters. Their demonstration follows last week’s BTL press conference, which signaled a breakdown in negotiations over severance payments owed to former employees. BCWJ maintains that workers deserve full severance plus six percent interest dating back to their departure from the company. BTL, however, says it will only pay interest beginning in November 2025, the date of a recent CCJ ruling. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The dispute between former BTL workers and the company heated up again this morning. Members of the Belize Communication Workers for Justice returned to the picket line outside BTL’s headquarters, keeping the pressure on just a week after the company announced that negotiations had collapsed. The workers say the fight is about fairness: they want full severance plus six percent interest for every year since they left BTL. The company says it will pay interest too, but only from November 2025, in line with a recent CCJ ruling. For now, both sides remain far apart, and neither seems ready to move.

 

Emily Turner, Organizer, Belize Communication Workers for Justice

“Contrary to what we like to say or believe that everything has to be politics. We are here to show that no, it can be about workers. And this fight is about former workers and BTL that deserve to be paid their entire severance from the day they left and not from November fifth, 2025, the CCJ ruling which is a couple months ago.”

 

During its press conference, BTL said BCWJ can’t expect the same outcome that the CCJ awarded to Ervin Marin and others because these negotiations are happening outside the courtroom.

 

Kendra Santos, Chief Human Resource Officer, Belize Telemedia (File: Feb 26^th, 2026)

“So if we’re both saying, we’re talking and we’re both saying we don’t want to go to court, the expectation that we will give and you will get everything that you believe you should get if you go to court cannot be the premise that we’re talking, in our view.”

 

Emily Turner and the BCWJ are pushing back against that position.

 

Emily Turner

“We put out a specific example with Paul Perriot. Paul would have about eight thousand dollar sin severance. If Paul would walk into BTL today and take what they have Paul would  get a hundred and fifty-eight dollars. But if Paul is paid as it is supposed to be paid, as it has been ruled, he is supposed to get about seven thousand dollars. So, the difference is a hundred dollars compared to thousands of dollars and the way we look at it is you are trying to cheat workers out of a couple thousand dollars. Really mien, what kind of thing this? That is just disgraceful.”

 

The BCWJ now says it’s open to shifting from its six‑percent demand. Prime Minister John Briceño recently floated a three‑percent interest rate, and Union President Jermaine Turner says that suggestion shows the conversation is finally moving in the right direction. Still, he insists they need to get back around the negotiation table to hammer out the details.

 

Reporter

“I understand that after this you are going to Charter House?”

 

Emily Turner

“To have lunch.”

 

After two hours of demonstration in the sweltering heat in front of BTL Headquarters, demonstrators moved in front of the Prime Minister’s office at Charter House. Members gathered inside a nearby pizza parlor before picketing in front of the building.

 

Glenfield Dennison, NTUCB Senator

“My dad worked at BTL for over ten years. He passed away in 2014. My dad was a ground workers for BTL. He was a lines man, an assistant line’s man. My dad use to climb lamp post. That is what feed me and sent me to school. In fact, I won a DIGI scholarship for high school. So, this is the for the love of a son to a father. I don’t know what more motivation you need than that.”

 

BCWJ intends to protest in front of the National Assembly Building on Tuesday during a Special Sitting of the House of Representatives. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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