"Touch One Touch All" - that's what the Belize National Teachers Union is saying tonight about the plight of the stevedores and their Christian Workers Union.
The BNTU has taken the decision to close all its accounts at the Ashcroft Alliance owned Belize Bank. This is after their sister union's leadership and their members were slapped with a million dollar lawsuit for losses that the Port of Belize says it suffered during the waterfront workers strike in December. Then, there is the interim injunction which froze the rest of the 1.5 million dollars that the government handed over in that ex gratia payment to the stevedores.
After observing those issues play out, the BNTU says, quote, "The BNTU Council… wish to place on record our total condemnation of what we feel amounts to no less than a bold attack on Trade Unionism, as a whole, in our country." End quote.
The BNTU council voted to withdraw all of the BNTU accounts, those of both the national and local branches, from Belize Bank Limited.
The BNTU also notes that they are calling on all other sister unions under the National Trade Union Congress of Belize to fully consider the "dire implications that the course cases against the CWU can have" on all trade unions. The BNTU's Council of Management engage its wider membership for talks to commence further action in the coming weeks.
The BNTU closes its press release by saying quote, "we will not stand idly by and allow any individual, or entity to trample or to try to destroy (trade unions)." End quote.
