Over the weekend, B.N.T.U. President Nadia Caliz came out swinging at the Briceño administration, firing back after a series of government-sponsored ads targeting union leaders. In a fiery Facebook post, Caliz accused the administration of stirring up trouble and made it clear, the unions aren’t backing down. Their demand for an eight-and-half percent salary adjustment still stands, and they say no amount of pressure will make them waver.
Nadia Caliz, President, Belize National Teachers’ Union
“It is sad when we look at politics taking the plight of Belizean people and playing politics with it. You have seen the smear campaign against the unions. But we are not going to step back. That is the message today. Eight-point five salary adjustment is eight-point five salary adjustment. Let me tell you this my dear teachers. They can put out one thousand videos. You know what makes this movement unique because it is their people on the ground who are not supporting them. They can run one million videos, and their very own people are not supporting them. You have seen the comments under their own ads. You have seen our parents are with us. That is why when they say president our parents are in sixth form, our children are here at standard six, fourth form, they want to graduate, work with us and we will work with you because we understand the struggles you are going through. Running an ad saying it will cost a hundred-million-dollar salary adjustment, the government knows this is not true. And let us look at how it started. Thirteen million for the salary adjustment, then twenty, next forty million dollars, then sixty million and now a hundred million dollars for the salary adjustment. The politics they are using to try and distort the pain and suffering of the Belizean people will not work. They can put a video out there with the president naked and stealing this and that, the movement will not change. The people want to see their eight-point five salary adjustments. And I will tell you, when I look at our ads, you know what is happening, you are only creating problems for yourself. You are hemorrhaging. It is about time that you sit down with your people and let them understand we go to work with the workers of this country.”
