Teachers’ Industrial Action Continues Into Fifth Day

After a momentous four days, the Belize National Teachers’ Union is trying to catch its breath and decide on a way forward. What we know for sure tonight is that there will be a fifth day of industrial action on Friday. But are the teachers committed to continue the strike into next week, with a severely mounting financial cost? This afternoon, the ten branches of the Union met countrywide in closed-door sessions. But B.N.T.U. Belize District Branch President, Kathleen Flowers, did grant an interview during this morning’s rally. She said that on Friday morning, following today’s meetings, the B.N.T.U. Council of Management will meet. At that time, it will review the responses from each branch and assess the costs of continuing industrial action. Thereafter, it will take and communicate a decision on whether the strike will continue into a second week.

Kathleen Flowers

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

“At this point, we are making this movement a day by day movement. Today we do a demonstration, tomorrow the Council of Management of B.N.T.U. meets and therefore that’s a clear indicator to you that this week, we end it off with another day of strike action. When that Council of Management meets on Friday, it will be meeting using a mandate gotten from the membership of the branch because when we initiated this industrial action, it was initiated with a mandate from our membership. Therefore none of us as the leaders of the union can determine that we will bring it to an end without that mandate or directive from our membership. This afternoon, across the country, after each branch has held its rally, we are going to be having membership meetings at which we are going to ask our members to humbly give us the direction that they wish to take this industrial action in. it is very important that we go back to our members because they are the ones that have been making the sacrifice alongside the work that we, as their leaders, have been guiding them through.”