Last week we showed you the protest by the University of Belize Faculty and Staff Union in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Belmopan on Cabinet day. They were demanding an increase in the UB subvention saying they would no longer accept delays and excuses, and threatening industrial action.
Well, it seems the government heard loud and clear because the Ministry of Finance has written to the UB Board of Directors saying that the Prime Minister has approved a 1.1. million dollar increase in the subvention. That takes it up from 7.6 million dollars to 8.7 million. Now it's not the 10 million that the UBFSU was demanding - and here's how the acting president of theUBFSU when she appeared on Sunup on June 19th.:
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."
So now it is at 8.7 million - we'll see if it satisfies the UBFSU.
