N.T.U.C.B. Objects to Amendment of Labour Laws
Marvin Mora
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize, N.T.U.C.B., has written to Prime Minister Dean Barrow objecting to the amendment to the Labour Act that was passed in the House of Representatives on Friday. The umbrella organization says that it was never consulted in respect of these changes, notwithstanding the fact that it is very much aware of the measures being taken by government to address the issue of employment amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to N.T.U.C.B. President Marvin Mora, having perused the contents of the amendment, the trade union congress cannot identify anything that would be beneficial to any worker, but it can readily point out where workers’ rights under existing labor laws are being eroded.
Marvin Mora President, N.T.U.C.B.
“Our position, a unified one is that: one, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize was never consulted and by virtue of that fact alone and because of the fact that the amendments are in relation to labour, we believe and we firmly believe that this particular process to enact the bill that was placed in front of the House of Representatives on Friday must be halted. The NTUCB must be given an opportunity to address the matter and be heard before it goes back to the senate.
Isani Cayetano
“Now we’re looking at sometime later in this week for the matter to go before the upper house. First of all, share with us what the immediate consequence would be on workers who are either being laid off or furloughed at this point in time.”
Marvin Mora
“The immediate consequence, because there are three amendments; the first one will be that if, before, the way the law is set is that the worker has to be paid whenever the government calls for a state of emergency or if there are extenuating circumstances that prevent that worker to reach what is considered [to be] beyond his control. Now in that situation the worker has to be paid. If this happens and the government calls a state of emergency or given current circumstances as it were, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government is going to change the law and the law will allow an employer to basically tell the worker, “Well, I will cut down your hours and you will only get paid for the hours that you work, even though it’s not the worker’s fault if he cannot reach home, for instance if there is a lockdown. So that is the immediate effect of that specific type of change.”
The N.T.U.C.B. is requesting a sit-down with PM Barrow ahead of Wednesday’s house meeting in an attempt to delay the passage of the revised legislation which also speaks to the hours of rest for workers.
