P.U.P. Condemns Disrespect Shown to the UB Faculty and Staff Union

Francis Fonseca

The People’s United Party is also condemning what it describes as the disrespect shown to the U.B. Faculty and Staff Union by the Board of Trustees and the Ministry of Education. Former Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca says that the union must be consulted and allowed to participate fully and meaningfully in all Board meetings and decisions. Fonseca says that the faculty representative on the board must be recognized and respected.

Francis Fonseca, Area Representative, Freetown

“I know they talk about the union not being formerly recognized. That is pure nonsense. In January of this year the tripartite commission of the Ministry of Labor wrote to the university president at the time, I think it was the acting president Mister Saqui and wrote to him and said that the tripartite body had in fact approved the UB Faculty and Staff Union as the official union of the University of Belize and requested in that letter in January thirteenth that the university acknowledge and accept them as the official union representing the faculty and staff of UB. So that is a bogus issue that they are raising.”

Hipolito Novelo

“The UB Union is threatening industrial action. Is that something that the party would support?”

Francis Fonseca

“Well I certainly, hope it doesn’t reach that point because I want to see and we in the People’s United Party want to see a working functioning National University of Belize.”