Teachers Welcome Chamber of Commerce Support

Luke Palacio

The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry has issued a statement of support for the B.N.T.U. following a meeting between their respective leaderships on Friday. The Chamber reiterated its support for several of the urgent reform measures proposed by the B.N.T.U., such as the activation of the Integrity Commission, the restructuring of the Public Accounts Committee, the appointment of the thirtieth Senator and the signing of the UN Convention Against Corruption. On the Integrity Commission and UNCAC issues, it is working directly with Government to get those matters dealt with more urgently. But the business group did not budge much on the Occupational Safety and Health Bill, which it continues to claim would have a severe impact on employers, inclusive of small enterprises, and would therefore jeopardize jobs and income generation in general. The Chamber has linked up with the National Trade Union Congress of Belize to develop a bill more to its liking and promised to share its revisions to the bill and commit to working out the way forward. Today B.N.T.U. president Luke Palacio committed to working with the Chamber:

Luke Palacio, National President, B.N.T.U.

“We welcome the Chamber’s support, we met with them; we were clear in giving them the information that we had; they in turn, also raised some concerns; and so yes, we have agreed that we will need to collaborate on a number of issues including the OSH Bill.”