The unions are preparing to protest in Belmopan tomorrow, and most prominent is the Teachers' Union - which is known to draw the greatest and most militant numbers. And because of that the question most parents are asking tonight is, will there be school tomorrow? And if school is open, will there be anyone in the classroom to teach? Well at newstime, there's no clear answer. The official position of the Ministry of Education and school managements is that there will be classes as usual.
But that may be wishful thinking in some cases because we've received reports of many students - particularly in Belize and Belmopan cities - who were simply told or given a note to say that there will be no school tomorrow. Of course, with no official consent from management, those teachers who do miss school to protest face the possibility of having their pay docked.
But despite that implicit threat, we do know that union leaders have been aggressively lobbying their memberships to support tomorrow's protest in Belmopan - timed to coincide with the second day of budget debate and the passage of the 2007/2008 Revenue and Appropriations Bill.
But the question tonight is can the unions generate enough support from their memberships to pull the kind of crowd that would shake the seat of power? Tonight, conventional wisdom says it is doubtful that the unions can mobilize in a week the kind of agitation that took two months to develop in 2005. But speaking with assistant general secretary to the NTUCB George Frazer this evening, he told us that the unions are ready to rumble.
George Frazer, Assistant General Secretary - NTUCB
"But I believe we will have a reasonable representation. I am not looking for any great or major thing. It is not necessarily in this case the numbers but the message. Some of the unions, especially the utility unions, they say they have an agreement with management that they would cooperate as in the past and send a percentage of the workers. Well we do expect a fair representation from the Teacher's Union.
And what will it take people to understand that there is a time when you have to make that decision. So I am putting out there to our teachers, to all workers, whether or not you get permission or not, it is your call. Will you stand up for Belize? We want our managers, our school managers, we want the Ministry and others to understand and most of all our teachers: this call is a call for Belize, to come, remember the children. We remember the children and if we don't stand and fight for them today, they won't have that future that we all look forward to."
The NTUCB will be providing bus transportation for those wishing to attend the protest. Buses will leave at 8 from the Belize City Center.
