Two employees at the Belize Agricultural Health Authority were terminated within the past three months and the PSU is claiming that they were sent home without due process. They issued a release stating that BAHA violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement. BAHA then responded by refuting these allegations, stating that they followed the disciplinary process and that these employees were terminated due to gross misconduct.
And, not surprisingly, the Agriculture Minister is siding with BAHA. Today he told our colleagues at CTV3 that he instructed them to follow all processes for terminating the employees, and they did.
Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"In every government, departments, they are very good public officers. There are some who we need to see some improvement, and there are some who do bad things. And union is union. They will defend their members."
"But in the case of Baha, these people who, I believe, have been terminated. The managing team at Baha have done extensive research to ensure that they are doing things right way properly before they took action."
"And so the union is doing what they believe is right. Trying to defend their members, that's their membership. But Baha also has those due diligence. I will tell you, I was a public officer once, so I know what it is."
"There are good public officers, hardworking, diligent, responsible. And there are some who deserve, I think, who I believe could improve. As there are some who have done very bad things. And so there must be a check and balance. There must be some kind of control, right? When people misbehave, then they must be held accountable. And so I have asked Baha to ensure that they are do their research and due diligence before they take action."
"I think Baha had done that. They consulted with legal people to ensure that we do things the right way."
A release from the PSU says it will, quote, "not be bullied into silence while the Managing Director of BAHA continues to abuse her authority and flout the established disciplinary process.
