Unions Meet with Executive Ahead of Budget Consultation

And with the debate on wage reductions now in the public discourse, following versions one and two of the Belize Business Bureau letter, the Public Service Union expressed their concern about the possible wage reduction. The unions will be participating in a budget consultation meeting with the Government of Belize this Wednesday. According to a release from the P.S.U., it is looking forward to giving meaningful input to assist G.O.B. in bridging the long-existing budget deficit.  The P.S.U., nonetheless, mentions that while it is fully cognizant of the dire financial constraints that the government is in, it rejects any attack on public officers’ salary. Meanwhile, the executive of the B.N.T.U. met over the weekend in preparation for its upcoming consultation with the government.

John Briceño

Prime Minister John Briceño

“When we finish all those consultations, we are going to put that together and see how best we could start to move Belize into the path of financial sustainability and where we can protect the Belize dollars so that we cannot have a devaluation and we can continue to have investments and creating jobs for the Belizean people. The people of this country elected us not to come with excuses and to cry, but to create opportunities. We are a party and a government that works and we are going to ensure that we can address these fundamental issues that the U.D.P. left us almost next to bankruptcy.”

Duane Moody

“So, keep your job with a percentage cut rather than losing your job? That would be the battle that you guys would have to…”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“…well that is something when we meet with the unions we will discuss. Everything is on the table and we will see what it is that they are going to recommend. First, more than anything else, we want to see what are their recommendations.”