Less than two weeks ago, teachers from all ten B.N.T.U. branches countrywide voted by secret ballot to participate in a national demonstration. The decision was almost unanimous and it would garner the support of the wider national Trade Union Congress of Belize. This morning as cabinet met, teachers from every corner of the country converged […]
After marching on the ring road, the gigantic crowd headed to Independence Hill for a three hour rally of speeches by branch representatives and other union leaders. Their cry was for salary adjustments and respect from the government. Police stood on guard throughout the event, but the demonstration started and ended peacefully. The unions now […]
Over six hundred and thirty-nine persons voted on our last question on whether government was attempting to union bust. An overwhelming seventy percent voted yes and thirty percent said no. Tonight’s question also relates to the teachers and public officers. It is: Do you think government can find the money to provide salary adjustments to […]
While all the action was in Belmopan, the city was relatively quiet. An overwhelming number of teachers answered the B.N.T.U.’s call for action. Here in the City, only a few schools kept their doors open. Duane Moody has that story. Therese Roches, Principal, All Saints Primary School “We had fifty percent of our staff […]
While teachers and the B.N.T.U. took center stage through sheer numbers, the demonstration had the explicit support of the Public Service Union and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers. Leaders of those two unions were clear that while their members would not come out in mass, thus triggering a shutdown of public offices, representatives […]
The first murder trial without jury kicked off today before Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin. Twenty-two year old Nicolai Rhys, the son of a police corporal, is accused of murdering reputed gangster, Andre Trapp on the morning of June tenth, 2010. After Trapp was killed; a green vehicle was seen speeding away and Special Constable Charles […]
On Saturday, twenty-five year old San Pedro boat captain, Byron Estrada, was butchered inside a popular nightclub on the island. Estrada was stabbed twenty-two times inside the bathroom of Daddy Rock night club and managed to stumble to the bar for assistance. He was taken to the San Pedro Polyclinic, but succumbed to his […]
As far as the union negotiations go, the buck stops at Prime Minister Dean Barrow, but the man in the hot seat is Minister of Education, Patrick Faber. His name came up repeatedly in the chanting by union members in the demonstration, and they were not exactly chants of praise. Faber’s position today is markedly […]
Following that trip down memory lane, Minister Faber also spoke about a more recent incident at the national university, U.B. The University of Belize’s student government led a protest on Monday through the streets of Belmopan and it ended at the steps of the assembly building. Hope Amadi, the student government president, led about one […]
The Guatemalan press is today reporting that President Otto Perez Molina has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate who should have had Guatemalan’s best interest at heart, but dropped the ball in respect of the upcoming October referendum. Perez Molina made the declaration following a meeting between Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington and […]
Last week, the Minister of Forestry, Lisel Alamilla, disclosed that someone had shot at the offices of the Ya’axche Conservation Trust in Golden Stream. Today, the Association of Protected Areas Management Organization joined the minister in condemning the violence. APAMO expressed disappointment that anyone would attack the organization which is dedicated to achieving conservation goals […]
Times are tough for a lot of people and many can ill afford medical attention. From time to time, they turn to the media to get exposure to their cause. Tonight, a father pleads for financial assistance for his young daughter, Sandy Jimenez, who is afflicted with leukemia. Angel Manuel Meza, Needs Help for […]
