Earlier in this segment, we showed you how the Prime Minister was making nice with the Public Service Union over their Hilltop Property.
Well, you may know that he also intervened in the dispute between the Ministry of Education and the Belize National Teachers Union. You’ll remember that this disagreement escalated to the point where the union took to the streets of Belmopan at the beginning of the month, bringing out 1,300 teachers and supporters for a demonstration.
The two sides are now trying to resolve their quarrels over the union’s concerns about hardship allowances, Proposal 22, and commuting allowances. Tomorrow, the Education Ministry officials will meet with the Union’s Branch presidents to discuss the first concern over the teacher hardship allowances. They will make their case as to why they believe that the Ministry’s earlier assessments of some schools were incorrect.
Today, the Union’s President told the press that they are prepared to make their case to the Ministry:
Hon. Elena Smith - President, BNTU
"We’re meeting tomorrow with the Ministry personnel. We’ll be having our branch presidents, and our executive attending that meeting. And we’re hoping that at the end of that meeting, we’ll be able to go over the list of schools, especially those that were downgraded."
Reporter
"And this is not a meeting including the Minister, right? He has House Meeting."
Hon. Elena Smith
"I guess so, but he has said to us that if it is that he is the problem, that he is willing to recuse himself from those meetings, and we’ve said to him that as the Minister, he’s the one who makes the final decision. So, it’s important for him to be in those meetings, but noting that there’s going to be a House Meeting tomorrow, then, we understand that he won’t be able to be there."
"I think that the Ministry realized that this is a matter that is not going to go away unless we deal with it properly. And so, I believe that with the Prime Minister’s intervention, maybe that is what triggered the change, and it’s something that is good for us because we felt that we had to have the input of our members."
After the resolution of this issue, the union and the Ministry will then move on the other concerns of the teachers.
