And at the head table, it wasn't just the joint unions and the NTUCB. Other unions are currently enduring their own battles with the government, and they spoke up about their individual issues. For the University of Belize Faculty and Staff Union, they say that a $7 million subvention isn't cutting it and that the government needs to fulfill its promise to restore it to $10 million. The acting president explained more.
Julianne Pasos, Acting President, UBFSU
"They promised to restore the $10 million subvention and increase that by $1 million every year should they become the government of Belize. They have been in power since 2020 if I'm not mistaken. Ironically, the subvention of the university from 2021 to 2024 has been at its lowest at $7.65 million. Last year, the UBFSU called out the government in a press release that they put out in June, almost a year ago. The response by the then government was that it would have been irresponsible of them to increase it given the pandemic and the economic crisis we were experiencing. And we understand that. That same year, they put out a press release saying that they, and I will pull it out, it says the government of Belize and the MOECST are deeply committed to the responsible sustainable development of the University of Belize. The Ministry's objective is to have a clear plan for the sustainable responsibility. An element of that plan is to increase the subvention to UB from the current level to Belize $10 million in 2025/2026 financial budget that was presented. The budget that was presented once again indicates a $7.65 million for the university with no projection for increase. Now our issue is the government keeps making promises. The subvention is not just something we are calling for, it's something that the university needs."
"We are having problems keeping out faculty and staff, we are experiencing some brain drain, our wages are not competitive, our academic programs are suffering, we cannot further develop them. We want to push for accreditation. This funding would take us a long way towards that."
