Union Flags Unfair Options in Tax Department Shake-Up  

Concerns are growing among staff at the Belize Tax Service Department as the transition to a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority inches closer. PSU President Dean Flowers says the move could leave over two hundred and thirty employees feeling sidelined. According to Flowers, the three options presented to staff don’t offer fair chances for career growth or proper compensation. He broke it down for us, here’s what he had to say.

 

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union

“Now, if you force me to resign, because I do not wish to interview for the position I currently hold, I already hold a position in the BTS/SARA, you are saying I can transition, but I must interview for the position I already hold, a position that the public services commission has offered me, a position I have already accepted and I accrued certain benefits. My terms and conditions are already set, whether it is compensation in terms of salary, allowances, whether it is my right, privilege or entailment to earn a gratuity or pension, you are saying to me that even these things are guaranteed to me I would have to forego them, you are not giving me and option, because if I want to transition I have to interview for a position I already hold and if I fail to meet your requirements for the position I already hold, what is next? Where am I going to transition to? What if you say to me that while you are currently a manager, but the interview team comprised of a politically appointed committee says you know what, I don’t like Marisol. I think she disrespected me at certain points in her career, so I don’t want her to be a manager. So, we will give a clerk position. So, you might ask how we can go from a manager to a clerk. Well, go and ask the company registry what happened to them, they are pushing paper, some of them who were already managers, some of them who were in line to be director. So, this nonsense that Michelle Longsworth is preaching that you can transition into SARA is utter, I don’t want to use bad words.”