Opposition Leader Says Nuncio Should Have Consulted with B.N.T.U.
John Briceño
Roman Catholic Archbishop to Belize Leon Kalenga as we said has called on the Roman Catholic teachers to go back to the classroom. He urged that the B.N.T.U. and the Opposition need to engage Government to end the strike and get the students back to school. Well, the Papal Nuncio’s words and visit didn’t sit well with Leader of Opposition. Today, John Briceño said he was disappointed that the Archbishop didn’t hold a meeting with the B.N.T.U. and didn’t even engage the Opposition.
John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition
“As a member of the Catholic Church, I am most disappointed with the Papal Nuncio. What has he done? He has only spoken with the Government. He has not met with the B.N.T.U. He has not met with the Opposition to find out really what is going on. He has only heard one side of the story. It is his moral responsibility to listen to the teachers and to listen to the Opposition and to everybody who are involved in this. We are involved.”
Reporter
“Sir, do you support the Papal Nuncio’s call for the teachers to go back to classes and to return to the negotiations?”
John Briceño
“No, I do not. And why? I do not because the teachers have been in negotiations with the Government for the past eight years. They have been trying to get a Collective Bargaining Agreement and they have been unsuccessful so far. Eight years. And they have been talking and talking and the Government has been stonewalling them. They are not getting anywhere. The only thing now that the Government understands is when the teachers are no long in school. If the Government is serious and they are saying yes we want to accomplish some of the things that the teachers are doing, the Prime Minister could sit down right now, right now and sign on to call in the thirteen senator. He could present right now how we are going to reconstitute the Public Accounts Committee and he could immediately say let’s call another Senate meeting to come up with a more open and transparent and fair Senate Select Committee. Bu the minute the teachers would relent, nothing is going to happen.”
This was all a set up between the manager of catholic schools and the P M. Don’t be fooled. They saw that they could not corrupt the bishop of Belize so they took advantage of the bishop’s health to bring the papal nuncio. If Mr. Barrow had time to meet with this guy why the P M do not find time to meet with the BNTU leadership? The media say that the P M wants to meet with the union but nothing in paper has been sent to the BNTU. He is not serious. He has called the unions, not BNTU in particular, and he has not even done this formally. If Mr. Barrow is really concern about the children, as I am sure teachers are, be serious, meet with BNTU leaders and reach a compromise for the good of the country.
GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!!! If teachers would be concern about students they would be in the class room at this moment. They only victims right now are the students, teachers don’t care about no ones future they already have theirs. Teachers think they are smart, open your eyes the opposition is using you to bring across their message.