N.T.U.C.B. supports restricting; 11 point demand to G.O.B.

The National Trade Union Congress of Belize (N.T.U.C.B.) this afternoon sent out a press release with eleven points dealing on a wide range of issues of national priority including the five hundred and fifty-four million dollar Superbond. After meeting with the Debt Restructuring Team, the N.T.U.C.B. supports the government’s desire to renegotiate the Super Bond because it says the government has always expressed a willingness to meet the country’s debt obligations with more favorable terms and conditions. The N.T.U.C.B. is troubled, however, that the pension funds for the workers of the Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.) have been invested into the bonds. And with non-payment, the future of the B.S.I. fund is uncertain and the situation leaves both B.S.I. employees and the N.T.U.C.B. in “grave concern.” The N.T.U.C.B.’s support is contingent on a number of issues it wants addressed. These include the improvement of financial regulations and the reactivation of the integrity commission. The union wants wanton land distribution to stop, especially when it involves under the table deals and preferential treatment; funding for the Statistical Institute of Belize and a stop to outsourcing of government work.  It’s also demanding that government recovers millions of dollars owed by persons who have made no attempts to pay their debts.