2 weeks ago
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The National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) says it is continuing efforts to secure better cooperation and collaboration from several key institutions regarding communication with union members. According to the umbrella union body, concerns persist over how administrative matters are being communicated, or in some cases not communicated, to unionized employees within entities such as the Belmopan City Council and the Development Finance Corporation. NTUCB President Ella Waight says the issue has been ongoing for some time and that despite repeated engagements, there has been little improvement in ensuring proper dialogue and transparency with staff represented by the unions.
Ella Waight, President, NTUCB: “CWU represents unionized organizations. Remember we have ten of them. Two of them are the Belmopan City Council, the two city council Belize City Council and Belmopan City Council and DFC. Whenever any issue with any member from that unit happens, any issue whether it be a disciplinary issue, whether it be termination, they must copy CWU in those emails. Not just the chief rep. The chief rep it just represents those people locally in the company with the employer. CWU is the legal entity that represents the workers of that company. So they must copy CWU. They are not doing that and it’s a disrespect, a disregard of the legal process that you agreed to when you signed a CBA. That has been happening too often. That is becoming more than the justice disrespect, that is becoming dangerous because things are happening to workers and the union is not aware of it until after the fact either through the chief rep or through some other source and that should not be the way how can we defend workers if we do not know what’s happening if you do not copy the union in the emails. So that has been happening at the at the DFC and at the Belmopan City Council and as much as the president has advised them, you know the process copy us in the email so we can represent our members. it’s not happening. So it has gone to the point where we had to report it to the Minister of Labor.”
Waight explained that clear and timely communication on administrative decisions is critical to maintaining industrial harmony and protecting workers’ rights. In addition to those concerns, the NTUCB says several other matters remain pending. Among them is the long-discussed issue of the list of essential services, a matter that has implications for industrial action and workers’ legal rights.
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The NTUCB maintains that it remains open to dialogue, and that tangible progress is needed to resolve these longstanding concerns affecting union members across the public sector.
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