Workers Union Says Draft SARA Legislation Is “Deficient”

Cabinet has approved a plan to transition the Belize Tax Services Department into a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority (SARA). Government says this will modernise revenue collection but which continues to face strong resistance from the Public Service Union.

The transition will be rolled out in phases and will cover governance, staffing and operations under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance.

However, the plan has drawn ongoing criticism from the Public Service Union (PSU), which argues that the reform could place workers’ benefits and job security at risk. The union says it was not properly engaged during earlier stages of the proposal and has accused the Ministry of Finance of a lack of transparency.

“ The Ministry of Finance had done a horrible job in engaging and disclosing and being transparent with what they wanted to do with one of the largest revenue-generating departments of government,” PSU President Dean Flowers said.

He said the union’s concerns were again raised during a recent meeting of the project’s steering committee, where members received a draft of the proposed legislation, which he described as inadequate, particularly in relation to workers’ rights.

“Quick reaction is that it is deficient. It is wanting, especially where respect for workers and workers’ rights is concerned,” he said. “But we have thirty days to provide our input on that, and we will be doing just that.”

He also noted that the union has not been provided with supporting studies or analysis justifying the transition to a semi-autonomous structure, adding that the PSU intends to closely examine the recommendations from the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC), which have been cited in support of the reform.

 ”CARTAC is not feeling the pain and experiencing what Belizeans are feeling. CARTAC is providing recommendation from a third-party standpoint of view,” Flowers argued.