B.N.T.U.’s Branches Get Ready for Simultaneous Nationwide Demonstrations

Today is being celebrated as World Teachers Day. But, for the teachers in Belize, it’s day-three of their strike action as a part of the Stand Up for Belize Campaign. The day passed fairly quietly. Schools, for the most part, were closed. But the teachers were not idle. Across the country they were out on the streets – but not to demonstrate. They met with members of the community to discuss their cause, which has been widely well-received. We will have more on that shortly, but first to the plans for the nationwide demonstrations on Thursday, to be organized by each branch. Here in Belize City, Belize District Branch president Kathleen Flowers detailed why they want everyone to join in.

Kathleen Flowers

Kathleen Flowers, President, Belize District Branch, B.N.T.U.

“Tomorrow is a national demonstration day except that we have designed it such that each branch will be doing its own demonstration in their local district. What that demonstration is intended to achieve is that we are going to be inviting the public out. Tomorrow is public solidarity support day because we are inviting all persons who are in solidarity with B.N.T.U. and its stand up for Belize campaign; its eight-point agenda and its good governance agenda and its decision to stand up in relation to our salary deferral. All persons across the country, not just in Belize District, who agree that this is a cause worth supporting, we are inviting to join us in that demonstration. It has to be a matter of people believing enough in our cause to join as an effort to point out that our cause is just enough to join.”

The Belize City event begins at nine at the Constitution Park, making its way to the B.T.L. Park for a rally beginning at ten-thirty a.m.  In related news, while there are no hard figures, teachers out on the road, according to Flowers, found that most schools in Belize City were still closed. They are expected to remain that way through at least Thursday, though when we pressed as to how the teachers were thinking in terms of extending the strike, Flowers would only tell us that they are taking it “one day at a time.”