Unions say not all S.S.B. compromises revealed
Almost a week after they ostensibly reached agreement on Social Security issues, government and unions are still having problems putting a unified public spin on the issue. A Government release issued on Monday reported three main agreements, including retention of the mandatory retirement age at sixty-five, adding one percentage point to contributions and leaving the ceiling of insurable earnings at three hundred and twenty dollars. Not surprisingly however, the unions now claim that important compromises were left out of the Government release. So we sent News 5’s Patrick Jones to get the union’s version of the facts from B.N.T.U. General Secretary, George Frazer.
George Frazer, Gen. Secretary, Bz. National Teachers Union
“We agreed that the vice chairmanship of the new Social Security Board would remain with the non-government side. We also agreed that all future actuarial studies, all future audits of Social Security funds would be put out to public tender. There would be transparency and openness. And again, all these information and other things, including investments would be put out for public view and knowledge. So those were not reflected there. We even–to bring a measure of comfort–we even suggested to the Prime Minister and Minister Ralph, that we would feel a lot better if loans or investment of a certain amount, lets say half a million would require a two thirds vote, so that at least our representative will have some inputs. And they said they had no problem with that, but they were suggesting that we take that up at the board level for our representative. So we feel that we were able to at least get some agreement and some concessions from government.”
Patrick Jones
“Now you mention that you were able to get them to agree that the vice chairmanship of the board be left with NGOs, is this a one time thing? What’s to say that next year that can’t be changed?”
George Frazer
“They were able to broker an agreement to say okay, the life of the new Social Security Board is three years, but the chairman will serve for five. That’s something else which people don’t know, the chairman serves for five years although the Board has a life for three years.”
Private sector representative Mike Polonio was elected as Vice Chairman for one year. Frazer says that initially Minister Ralph Fonseca said the implementation of the one percent increase could be delayed until August first, but as we reported earlier this week, the new rates went into effect on Tuesday. The National Trade Union Congress has a meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon in Belize City with the S.S.B.’s General Manager Narda Garcia. At that meeting, Frazer says the Unions are hoping to get in writing, among other things, the agreement to keep the vice chairmanship of the board in the hands of non-governmental organizations.
