This past Labor Day, the NTUCB organized a parade and rally that included all the unions under its umbrella. Each union has issues at the forefront that they're currently fighting - whether concerning Collective Bargaining Agreements, Essential Service Arbitration Tribunal delays, or severance battles, among others. And at Friday's rally, each union president had the chance to give a short speech with the Minister of Labor and the Minister of the Public Service - as well as other guests - in the audience. The PSU president took that opportunity - with the Belize City Mayor present as well - to condemn the idea floated by the Mayors Association of a pension for themselves. With video courtesy "Marion Ali Live", he called it an affront to the treatment of municipal workers.
Dean Flowers, President, PSU
"What is their demand? A pension plan, a comfortable retirement package for themselves. They argue that after years of public service, they deserve compensation for their hard work. On its face, that might sound reasonable, but fellow workers, we must look beyond the glass surface and examine the record."
"Mayor Rigoberto Vellos, president of the Mayors Association, is the man who now demands a pension on the backs of taxpayers, yet it is the same mayor who has done everything in his power to prohibit the organization and unionization of municipal workers in Corozal. When the workers in Corozal Town Council approached the public service union of Belize in 2023 when Mayor Vellos was the guest speaker for our 101st anniversary, seeking assistance in education and organizing themselves, it was Mayor Vellos, who made it his business to block every effort by the union. The PSU took the only recourse available, they wrote formal letters of complaint to the labor department and the Mayors Association including the executive secretary, aspiring mayor. And what was the response, fellow workers? Silence. Only absolute disrespectful silence."
"The tragedy does not end at the border of Corozal Town. With the sole exception of the cities of Belize and Belmopan, municipal workers across the remaining 7 municipalities do not enjoy the right to belong to a union or are they covered by any collective bargaining agreement."
