Teachers stage mass protest in Belmopan
Thousands of Belizean students had their already long weekend extended by an extra day, as their teachers left the classroom to stage a protest in Belmopan. Citing government’s failure to take their contract negotiations seriously, the demonstrators took their message within shouting distance of the corridors of power. Janelle Chanona reports.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Estimates vary, but conservative numbers suggest as many as two thousand five hundred teachers and public officers gathered at Independence Hill in Belmopan today demanding increases in their salaries and benefits.
Demonstrators Chanting
“Do we want a raise? Yes! When do we want it? Now!”
The protestors, mostly teachers, came from as far away as Corozal and Punta Gorda.
Janelle Chanona
“Everybody from St. Peter Claver came out?”
Vincent Nunez, Teacher, Punta Gorda
“Everybody is not here. And the reason why everybody is not here is that some people cannot even afford the ten dollars to get here. They can’t even afford it. As a matter of fact, some people had to pay babysitters. They can’t afford it so they are home with their kids, so I can’t blame them. Those of us who are here it’s because we have squeezed and made an extra effort to come up here to give those people up there the message.”
And what exactly is that message?
Glifford Parham, Wesley Lower
“We are out here because we want to hear what Fonseca will tell us. We will listen to both Channel 7 and Channel 5 tonight to find out what he has to say because on Friday he said that there is nothing in the budget for us. And we want to see if he’ll change his mind after seeing us today. Because what he saw on Friday was only the Corozal District teachers. Today we have all the rest of districts. So, we are out here to show them peacefully that we want our raise and we mean we want it.”
Ruth Castillo, Grace Primary
“Cost of living is going up and we as teachers have remained at the same salary for more than ten years, it’s ridiculous. A teacher who has an associate’s degree and goes to Teacher’s College, after ten years of teaching still is earning less than fifteen hundred dollars a month. That’s how bad it is.”
Alejandro Najarro, Teacher, San Antonio
“I teach at San Antonio RC School in the village. We have to travel eighteen miles everyday, we have to pay for gas, and everything and we only get sixty dollars. Sixty dollars, on top of our salaries. That is not enough to run a vehicle for a whole month.”
Daniel Luna, Orange Walk
“At the end of today we know that we are driving a point. And even if we only get that, if we have to come out here again and if we have anymore measures… If government doesn’t have it should come out plain and say that the economy is really bad and we are really bad and we can’t do it. But they keep on telling us promises and we are tired of that.”
Louis Gentle, San Ignacio
“Presently our paycheques have fallen in value because of the recent taxes that have overtaken our paycheques. So we definitely need a little change in it, making it look a little bit better.”
Janelle Chanona
“How far are you prepared to go to get what you want?”
Louis Gentle
“Til the end. We are not afraid of anything. Right now we are taking it easy, but if we have to go to the front there we’ll go, no problem.”
And as word trickled through the crowd that their negotiators had come back empty-handed from another meeting with the government team, the demonstrators’ response came quickly.
George Frazer, Secretary, B.N.T.U.
“They sey they caan give no raise cause they money no deh deh. But we could talk bout it.”
Demonstrators Chanting
“No raise no school! No raise no school! No raise no school!”
As the crowd regrouped at the Belmopan Civic Centre, it seemed that while the union members were ready to take drastic action, the leadership was taking a more pragmatic path.
John Pinelo Sr., President, B.N.T.U.
“We know that we need to give the persons a chance. We need to give the persons a chance. We are aware of the fourteen months that we have waited. They’ve acknowledged all of that, and as mentioned by my previous colleagues, they are, to us, seriously going to engage with us with the negotiations.”
Glennis Williams
“We will not play. This is not time to play with us. We want answers and we don’t want fancy words and cutting corners. So please, tell us the true pictures, tell us exactly. We heard from Mr. Gibson that government was blunt. Let’s hear their words. Let’s find out how blunt they were.”
And another point that fired up the demonstrators was that of the N.H.I. According to the union representatives, implementation is set for April first.
Margaret Ventura
“We have all come to the conclusion brothers and sisters in our unions that N.H.I. is another form of tax. We have also come to the conclusion that we cannot pay that other form of tax.”
President of the Public Service Union, Margaret Ventura says that while government has said it will consider certain proposals for the benefit package, their members want more.
Margaret Ventura
“We are convinced that the request is not unreasonable. The Prime Minister said a serious look will be given to the proposal down the road, maybe even up to next year in terms of an increase, providing there is no natural disaster, providing there is no terrorist attack, providing the proposed budget this year is kept tight, and according to I guess agreements with the I.M.F. It is difficult for a membership, a work force to accept that when in fact our concerns are also legitimate.”
With government holding firm and their members refusing to back down, The pressure on the Union’s leadership can only become more intense. Reporting for News 5, I am Janelle Chanona.
With Cabinet in session all day, we were not able to get an official response from government officials. Last week, Minister of Budget Planning Ralph Fonseca told the media that the budget to be presented on Friday did not include any new raises for teachers or public officers. Late this evening union officials circulated a list of government contract employees receiving ample salaries and benefits. The numbers, which could not be confirmed, were supposed to indicate that, for government, money is no object when it comes to political favourites.
