NTUCB Firmly Rejects BEL COPA Increase Proposal

Belizean families are already struggling to keep up with their monthly utility bills, and now they could be facing an even bigger electricity bill. The National Trade Union Congress of Belize is pushing back against a proposal by Belize Electricity Limited to double the monthly Cost of Power Adjustment cap from five to ten percent. NTUCB President Ella Waight says working-class households simply cannot absorb another increase, especially when many are already choosing which basic utility to pay. While the union encourages consumers to conserve electricity, Waight argues that customers should not be left footing the bill for the company’s cost overruns.

 

Ella Waight, President, NTUCB

“The National Trade Union Congress of Belize found it necessary to write to the Public Utilities Commission to let them know that we totally reject the proposal of BEL to increase the COPA from 5 percent to 10 percent. And it’s not because we feel workers don’t want to pay more, it’s simply because workers cannot afford to pay even one cent more towards any utility bill or expenses. We have workers who have to decide which bill to pay this month, whether it be water, electricity, or telephone, so they don’t get cut off. We have single mothers taking on two jobs just to put basic food on the table. So, as NTUCB, advocates for workers, we have to ensure that we place on the record that we totally object for now, at least, and maybe for a good while, to the proposal of the BEL to increase the COPA.”

  

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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