And from the vaccine which may save lives to the death of…corruption?
Yesterday, the BNTU blocked major bridges in population centres all across the country. It's a continuation of their industrial action against the wage cut, and in favour of good governance, a campaign which is now in its third week.
For today's protest, the BNTU and their sister union, the Public Service Union, went far off the beaten path when they organized funeral processions in the different municipalities to mark the "death" of corruption.
It's not the type of protest action that we normally see. So, they certainly get marks for originality. In advance of today's funeral processions, the unions even went as far as to produce a death announcement for corruption, which was airing on different media outlets.
Our 7News team was at the Yarborough Green today for the Belize City version of the funeral procession, and Daniel Ortiz reports:
This morning, members of the Belize National teachers union and the Public Service Union took to the streets for an unusual demonstration.
The district branches of these 2 unions staged a special kind of funeral procession in their various municipalities.
So who is the deceased victim supposed to be inside all of these caskets? Well, the teachers and public officers say that this is a celebration of the death and burial of corruption in public life. In their opinion, dishonesty, deception, and unjust enrichment at the expense of the Belizean public need to come to an end. And that's why gave corruption a symbolic burial today.
Gayle Garcia - Belize Branch Chair, PSU
"For the past couple of weeks, we've been out here fighting because we're demanding better governance, the implementation of UNCAC, and other legislation that will lead to the greater good of the country."
Tanya Flowers-Gillett - President, BNTU Belize Branch
"Today if you notice, we have our coffin symbolizing death. So today, we hope to bury corruption, nepotism all the negative things that are bringing our country down, as we stand for good governance."
"We're sending that message, good governance. We do not want to come back here another 5-10 years down the road."
Reporter
"Who is it in that casket?"
Tanya Flowers-Gillett
"(Laughs) We're talking about those individuals who have a hand in the corruption of this nation. So, whichever political party, whoever you are, and you have a hand, taking what is not yours, that's it right there."
Reporter
"Is corruption really dead?"
Tanya Flowers-Gillett
"Is it dead? No, it's not. So, we want to let it die today. That's what we're fighting for. Please stop the corruption because is what has us where we're at right now."
And while the pretence of mourning at the "demise" of corruption, and the interesting picket signs certainly paint a colorful and entertaining picture, we wondered if this unusual pageantry from the unions would earn them high ratings from the rest of the Belizean society.
Reporter
"It trivializes a very important matter."
Tanya Flowers-Gillett
"Symbolically, we're using the funeral procession so that we could send the message, Belizeans out there, it's about country. We want to bring all this negativity to an end. So, we need your full support. Our nation needs this. It's not about red or blue, it's about Belize. It's about our children. So, we're appealing. Hear us and see what we're doing out here of our nation and our children."
Another variable that could influence public perception against the ongoing cause of BNTU and the PSU is the government's insistence that they agree in principle with the unions that good governance reforms are a major priority.
Reporter
"The Government of Belize has said, see, we're giving solid timelines and dates for the implementation of much of these demands. We have timelines for whistleblower legislation, illicit asset recovery."
Gale Garcia
"It's still not that concrete, and that is the reason why we are out here demanding better from our leaders."
Reporter
"The Government said that anybody who strikes after May 15th will get their salaries docked for those days that they're not on the job. Talk to us about how you feel about that."
Gayle Garcia
"Well, when the government - well the now Prime Minister - when he was in Opposition, he was right there standing by the teachers supporting them, demanding better governance from the then UDP administration. So, we're still out here fighting, knowing that we might not get a salary, and that is fine because we believe in what we are fighting for. It's not just for today, but for tomorrow for the future of our children and grandchildren."
