UB Union March for Delayed Subvention

The University of Belize Faculty and Staff Union (UBFSU) staged a peaceful march in Belmopan this morning to demand the government honour its long-standing promise to increase the university’s annual subvention to 10 million dollars.

Union members and students gathered outside of the Prime Minister’s Office during the weekly Cabinet. UBFSU President Julianne Pasos explained that the Briceño government has failed to live up to its 2020 election pledge to gradually raise the subvention by one million dollars each year. After nearly five years in office, no increase has materialised.

Pasos added that when UB was created in 2000, the government granted a 10 million dollar subvention to support operational costs. That figure peaked at 11 million in later years but was cut under the UDP administration. The current administration, then in opposition, condemned the cut and promised restoration and annual increases.

Despite that, the national budget tabled earlier this year by the Briceño administration in its second term included no such increase.

She pointed out that the staff were promised a 9% salary increase in January, with confirmation that it would take effect by the end of UB’s fiscal year on July 31st. But earlier this month, the university’s board announced the raise would now depend on whether the government increases the subvention.

“When the joint unions were negotiating, we did not have an issue; we had already been promised the 9%. We had already been told that 9% will take effect by the end of UB’s fiscal year. The board met on July 3rd, and at that July 3rd meeting, they then said that the 9% is contingent on the subvention. And so that is why we are out here now, because the ballpark changed after that meeting,” Pasos said.

She clarified that while the government provides the subvention, it is ultimately the responsibility of UB’s administration and board of trustees to ensure salaries are paid and adjustments are met. She stated that if the subvention does not come through, the union plans to hold the university’s leadership accountable for finding the money to cover salaries.

Pasos also pushed for a more sustainable funding model. She stated, “One of the things that the union has been saying is let’s link it to our GDP. Most countries link the subvention to their tertiary institution to the GDP, and if we do that, then it’s based on the profits of the country. So it is linked to that. And so it won’t be an issue of when or how it would be increased; there is a formula that would be in place for it.”