While the ministry’s decision to skirt the gridlocked union can be seen as high-handed, Palacio says that B.N.T.U. will continue advocating for the rights of its membership, as well as teachers who are not part of the union but are in solidarity with its cause. Isani Cayetano “Do you believe that by the recent […]
But is the Ministry of Education sending mixed messages with respect to their salary deductions? Palacio says that on one hand, the ministry says it will dock salaries at the end of November and on the other hand, it wants teachers to make up time and spend six more days in the classrooms. In all […]
In Tuesday’s newscast, we showed you some of the top performers in the 2016 CXC’s CSEC and CAPE examinations. But, what about Belize’s overall performance? According to the CXC local registrar Juan Vargas, the good news is that overall Belize performed well and our students are competitive. In English ‘A,’ Belize is performing above the […]
And the marks for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations have been consistent and students are performing extremely well. Vargas says the students have demonstrated that they prepared well and he explains how Belize stacks up this year compared to previous years. Juan Vargas, CXC Local Registrar “The CAPE exams which have the acceptable grades one […]
The impasse between the Ministry of Education and the Belize National Teachers Union came to a head on Friday when B.N.T.U. National President Luke Palacio firmly stood his ground, following a meeting of the Council of Management. The decision coming out of those discussions was that if the twenty-five member delegation cannot meet with Deputy […]
Saint John’s College and Junior College produced one of the best crops for this year’s CSEC and CAPE Examinations. Over at the high school Riki Alegria is the most outstanding student for the CSEC while at the junior college, Jose Guerrero was the top scorer and the Open Scholarship recipient. In fact, the top six […]
The Belize National Teacher’s Union held another protest on Saturday, several days after its members resumed classes and ending an eleven-day strike. The demonstration this time around did not enjoy a massive turnout in terms of participation. But why? Still yet, the leadership of the union says that the message is loud and clear – […]
Across the country today, teachers formed long lines in various banks and credit unions and collected a full month’s wage, despite an eleven-day strike a few weeks ago. That’s because government has chosen to pay their total salaries for October, while respective school managements put together a list of names for whose income will be […]
So, why can’t the union give in to Faber’s request and reduce its attendance to five executives? According to B.N.T.U. President Luke Palacio, government does not have a bearing on who can or cannot participate in the meeting when the council of management is the representative body for the various branches of the union. The […]
In speaking with Minister of Education Patrick Faber over the past week, he has expressed a concern for fairness to teachers who were present in their classrooms during the strike. Should they be subjected to makeup time when they reported to work every day for the duration of the industrial action? Another consideration is the […]
Contextualizing the argument on behalf of the teachers who took part in the strike was Nadia Caliz. She’s a member of the council of management representing the Stann Creek District. According to Caliz, there are teachers who abstained from the walkout who will also benefit from a five percent interest on the deferral of the […]
Will Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber get to meet with the Belize National Teachers’ Union on Friday? The answer depends on the outcome of a prior meeting of the Union’s Council of Management on Friday morning. At a press briefing held this afternoon, the Union’s top figures, Executive Secretary Keesha Young […]
The Union also cites previous instances when both the Prime Minister and Minister of Education have met with the Council of Management as its basis for explaining why the Council should not be pared down for this meeting. Luke Palacio, National President, B.N.T.U. “You don’t know who you are dealing with when you are […]
The Strike Fund – it has become the latest tug-of-war between the Ministry of Education and the Belize National Teachers’ Union. The Union has maintained that its Fund is established solely for actions undertaken by the Union – from strikes, to demonstrations and other related activities. Now, the Ministry is proposing that the monies therein […]
The Belize National Teachers’ Union is hoping to find an ally in the various school managing authorities. A meeting between them was scheduled for Monday of this week but it did not go off as planned. Nonetheless, according to Union President Luke Palacio, the authorities appear to have more of a listening ear than the […]
The rally scheduled in Belize City for Saturday, October twenty-ninth, was intended to be a “thank-you” event in recognition of those who assisted the Belize National Teachers’ Union in their suspended eleven-day industrial action held earlier in the month. Instead of being a “treat” in honor of the Halloween weekend, however, teachers from across the […]
Minister of Education Patrick Faber is meeting with the leadership of the Belize National Teachers Union on Friday to discuss a way forward in the wake of an eleven-day strike effected by the organization. Among the issues to be covered is a salary deduction from teachers who participated in the industrial action. The union was […]
Both parties have agreed to meet and discuss the terms of the deduction, but has there been any consideration on the part of government to do away with a pay cut altogether? That’s what we asked Faber this morning. He says the issue is not a cut and paste situation. Isani Cayetano “Have you, […]
This week, Minister Gaspar Vega resigned from cabinet after evidence surfaced that his son was superbly compensated for land sold to him which was held privately. Prime Minister Barrow had to reshuffle the cabinet in light of Vega’s departure. Minister John Saldivar was sent home for a week pending investigation into his business relationship with […]
With all the talk of a salary deduction, there are serious concerns about the legality of such a decision. In fact, the question of whether or not government has the right to withhold wages is front and center of B.N.T.U.’s latest round of discussions. But what does it all mean for the political aspirations of […]
Having put their strike on hold, the teachers are still facing another battle; this time, its salary deductions for the striking days. Today, the Chief Education Officer Doctor Carol Babb issued yet another memo to general managers of government and grant-aided primary schools and board of managements and principals of secondary schools and junior colleges. […]
The total monthly salary is to be divided by the number of days in the month – thirty-one; then multiplied by the total number of days the teacher is out on strike. But do they have the authority to withhold the payments for teachers’ salaries? This afternoon, we spoke with the National President of the […]
Late this evening, News Five obtained a letter from Minister Faber sent to Luke Palacio. The letter makes two proposals in which the ministry is softening its position. Faber proposes that the B.N.T.U. utilizes the strike fund to pay the teachers who were on strike and second, that the Government of Belize, through the Ministry […]
To pay or not to pay the protestant teachers; that’s the position that schools management are faced with following an eleven-day strike effected by the Belize National Teachers Union. While the industrial action was initially to compel government into addressing the three percent salary adjustment, the tone of the resulting protest quickly became a call […]
Late Tuesday evening, a memo from the Ministry of Education, titled “Withholding of Contributions towards Salaries for Teachers on Strike,” was released. According to the document, signed by Chief Education Officer Doctor Carol Babb, G.O.B. has decided to withhold salaries for teachers who went on strike from all government and grant-aided schools. The instructions issued […]
