Last night on 7NEWS you heard union leaders from your water, electricity and phone companies resolve to join the teachers to effect a national shutdown. How far will they go? Well, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize day today called on all its union members to stage a mass "walk-out" which we have confirmed did happen BTL and BWSL. While phone service was uninterrupted, the water workers did more than walk out, they cut the water supply. Just before 1 pm this afternoon water supply in Belize City was cut off and it remains off at newstime. Intermittent outages will continue as a part of an ongoing, possibly escalating national shutdown. And what are the other unions doing? Well today the other leaders joined in a student protest where they told us that they are going for a national "strike."
The continued action is of greatest concern for parents with school children and today we asked the BNTU President how long the school shutdown will continue as it tomorrow enters an unprecedented sixth day.
Alfonso Noble,
Can our children stay out of school for so long?
Anthony Fuentes, BNTU President
"Well I'll like to put that in the government's hand. If the government delivers on what we signed our collective bargaining to in 2003 then our teachers will go back into the classroom. But if they do not deliver on the promises in the collective bargaining that was signed, then our teachers are prepared to go the full nine yards."
Alfonso Noble,
Some are now speculating that you might not be acting responsibly.
Anthony Fuentes,
"No I wouldn't agree with that. At the end of the day our branch presidents and our council of management will also make its decision. We are responsible enough. We are educators and therefore we will continue on this plan of action until government listens and our teachers as I said earlier are prepared to go the full nine yards."
Mark Butler,
"As a union we got to act responsible. We have to remember that we have the business people that supported us greatly so we have to play the very important role of supporting them also. We are not in the business of sabotaging any of our company' s equipment. As you know we don't have a problem with our company. At BEL we have a good working labor relationship with the company. We are even getting in dialogue to see how we could get people to demonstrate peacefully with support of the company. We at any costs cannot stop what happens out here with electricity but definitely from a responsible point of view we have no intention to sabotage our system."
Alfonso Noble,
Will you all be striking?
Paul Perriot, BCWU President
"I am not calling a strike, I am calling it a shutdown. We are asking our workers to not show up."
Alfonso Noble,
So presently are workers at work today, your workers?
Paul Perriot,
"I have a feeling some of them are there but most of us are here."
Mark Butler,
"What we are doing is coming out in the numbers to add to these demonstrations because unity is strength and the more we come out to stand up for our rights and what is rightfully ours, that is the proper way of helping out the process."
Paul Perriot,
"I could only hope that the Prime Minister is watching and all the ministers of cabinet that this is the people's voice. They were voted by the people and for the people so they have to listen to what the people have to say, that is the bottom line."
While water service has been restored, we advise you to make good use of it because it will be cut off at 9 pm. The planned shutdown will last from 9 pm tonight until 6 am tomorrow morning. Service will then be restored at 6 tomorrow morning and it will remain on until 9 am. Thereafter there will be no service until 6 tomorrow evening. A BWSL company release says these planned shutdowns will continue through to Friday.
What is government doing to halt what is burgeoning into a national crisis? Well yesterday talks between the unions and the Prime Minister broke down when he refused to agree to delay the tax increases for three months. But today, an NTUCB representative joined conciliation meetings between the Chamber of Commerce and Ministers Godfrey Smith and Jose Coye. We'll tell you what came out of that later on in the newscast.
