UNIBAM Weighs in on Equal Opportunities Bill

Caleb Orozco

Executive Director Caleb Orozco of United Belize Advocacy Movement, UNIBAM, also chimed in on the Equal Opportunity Bill.  He admits that while the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community will be covered under the legislation, the compass of the bill should create a level playing field for everyone in the workplace.

Caleb Orozco, Executive Director, UNIBAM

“Within the context of the bill, there are two important parts.  There is an Equal Opportunity Commission which will deal with investigation of claims and there is a second part which is the Equal Opportunity Tribunal which will deal with hearing those claims for their evidence.  I think that’s important because we’ve never had such a mechanism before in this country addressing discrimination deliberately.  I think that’s important because there are so many things happening in terms of gender and the education system in terms of the workplace, that it gives ordinary citizens a chance to then vent their concerns in a very formal way for the first time.  That to me is important.  But more important, I believe the bill has two core values: an attempt to show respect and an attempt to create a fair playing field for everybody and for me that’s important because as a country we’ve had a long history of traditionally showing respect to our elders and people who are different than us.  We’ve always complained about the need to create a fair playing field in our country and the system and in my mind the Equal Opportunity Bill does both in a way that benefits everybody.”