Nation is normal…but for how long?

The nationwide strike called by the teachers and civil servant unions appears to be fizzling as schools across the country were back in full session, and a large majority of public officers were at their workstations. What could be causing the apparent lack of support for the proposed shut down? Union leaders were tied up in a “planning” meeting all day and were unavailable for comment. But Zenaida Moya of the Belmopan branch of the Public Service Union this evening told News Five that while support appears to be thin, more and more civil servants are coming out in support of the strike action. Moya says that for the second day running, government workers from Benque Viejo and San Ignacio have been meeting in Belmopan for protest marches around the Ring Road. And in Belize City, the B.W.S. Workers Union has once again forced the water company to engage in a series of planned outages. At the same time, Moya charges that intimidation tactics directed at public employees by their chief executive officers have kept many workers off the picket lines. And while she was in the mood to talk, Moya said that on Thursday, striking public officers will take their protest march to Benque Viejo, and on Friday they plan to march on Belize City…that is, if they can obtain the necessary permit to demonstrate.