Photo: Hon. Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 2, 2024
The Government of Belize (GoB) and the Joint Unions Negotiating Team (JUNT), which represents public sector workers, convened for over five hours of negotiations yesterday, May 1, addressing long-standing issues that existed even before the municipal elections in March.
The meeting focused on various pressing matters including the signing of a long-delayed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and multiple reforms in public service management.
“We had a very amicable and respectful and productive meeting. We last met in November and were supposed to meet a little bit after that, and we had a bunch of deliverables on our side that we had not delivered, and the meeting was long overdue,” Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Cordel Hyde admitted to reporters.
A key topic was the resolution of Proposal 22, a contentious issue for over sixteen years, primarily concerning the salary and pension contributions for non-governmental secondary and tertiary level educators. Historically, the government covered 70% of these salaries, with the respective managements covering the remaining 30%, a split that also extended to pension payouts.
This arrangement often led to retired educators facing difficulties in receiving their full pension due to managements’ financial constraints. However, last December, the government agreed to take over the full financial responsibility, a commitment that will be formalized on June 5th when Proposal 22 is officially signed off.
Furthermore, as part of the negotiations, the government committed to paying 50% of the due pensions to recent retirees within the past 30 days. Additionally, the formation of several key committees was confirmed.
Dean Flowers, President of the Public Service Union, reported that committees focusing on revenue enhancement, cost savings, and pension reform have been established. These committees are scheduled to meet in mid-May and will be coordinated by the Ministry of Public Service.
“What we should see coming out of these committees is the effecting of the recommendations as well as the possible identification of new recommendations on how to properly enhance revenues,” Flowers expressed.
Additionally, the unions have requested a detailed disclosure of the country’s debt profile, which is seen as a step towards advocating for an anti-corruption commission under the United Nations.
In response, the Ministry of Finance has committed to providing this profile, which Flowers says he intends to share with the public to enhance transparency and accountability.
The parties have agreed to meet again in June to further discussions on other unresolved issues.
