PSU Members Overwhelmingly Reject Offer, Trade Dispute Set for June 10

In an update to our coverage of the ongoing joint unions standoff, a circular was issued today in which the PSU announced that an overwhelming ninety-four percent of its members have rejected the government’s latest wage proposal, which included a phased salary increment and a new pension contribution requirement. Even more striking, over ninety-one percent of members voted in favor of declaring a trade dispute, set to take effect tomorrow, June tenth. At the heart of the dispute is the government’s refusal to approve a six-dollar minimum wage increase for nearly nine hundred essential workers, school wardens, janitors, cleaners, security officers, and others, who the union says are being undervalued and politically sidelined. The PSU also criticized the government’s decision to deny an eight-point-five percent salary increase for public officers this fiscal year, instead offering only two incremental raises spread over three years. To make matters worse, the proposal ties these limited benefits to a five percent pension contribution for new hires starting October first. In response, the PSU is invoking the Settlement of Disputes in Essential Services Act, formally notifying the Minister of Labor of the union’s intent to declare a trade dispute. Union leaders are calling on members from Belmopan and surrounding western towns to join them in a peaceful walk to the Ministry of Human Transformation, where they will hand-deliver the declaration. The PSU is also urging department heads to grant union members time off with full pay to participate in this critical action, citing Public Service Regulations.