Union leaders are expected to officially notify the government’s negotiation team tonight that their members have rejected the proposed three percent raise. BNTU President Nadia Caliz confirmed the update and says the unions are ready to return to the table, ideally as soon as Monday, for a second round of talks. But there’s more stirring behind the scenes. Caliz also made a bold claim: she believes members of the current administration have infiltrated her union’s council and executive branch, raising concerns about internal trust and transparency as negotiations continue.
Nadia Caliz, President, Belize National Teachers Union
“They have already expressed through so many means that they don’t care what we have planned, they are going to do what they need to do, but they do care because they have infiltrated by council and branch executive and I know a lot of things going on right now. But I wont hide, when it is time for me to say what I need to say and do what I need to do for my membership it will happen. So they don’t have to be paying nobody no secret money for nothing to do nothing. When we are going to make that move we are going to tell you and everyone is going to know what is going to happen. What brought me out here today when I saw the press conference, it was sent to me, about you can go to jail with essential services. They know the consequences of actions, but they don’t know that they need to do something so that we don’t get there. Why do we always have to come blows and wars before we get what we want.”
Paul Lopez
“Do you go back to the negotiation table?”
Nadia Caliz
“We have to go back to the negotiation table but we couldn’t do it on our own. Our members had to give us their mandate which we now have, both BNTU and PSU and APSSM now have a mandate and we are going to communicate that to government today they are going to get that response.”