1 week ago
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The National Trade Union Congress of Belize, NTUCB, says it remains concerned that Prime Minister John Briceño has yet to fully deliver on a commitment to hold regular meetings with the country’s umbrella trade union organization. The concern was raised by NTUCB President Ella Waight, who acknowledged that while the congress was able to meet with the Prime Minister earlier this month, securing those engagements has continued to be a challenge.
According to Waight, the NTUCB has repeatedly emphasized the importance of maintaining a structured and consistent dialogue with government, particularly on issues that have significant national implications. She noted that although discussions do occur from time to time, the regular schedule of meetings previously promised has not materialized. Waight explained that during the recent meeting, the NTUCB raised several matters of concern, including the long-discussed Whistleblowers Protection legislation, electoral redistricting, and what she described as a lack of updates on a number of issues that had previously been placed before government.
Ella Waight, President, NTUCB: “It was a very short meeting. It was a very rushed meeting by the Prime Minister and we kept reminding him that because we have not met for so long and we did not get any updates from his office on the issues that we had discussed in December, that is why we’re having a lot of items on our agenda. But anyway, the meeting continued. We had representatives from most of the unions that fall under NTUCB and members of the executive. Discussed were basically issues that we had brought up in December, mainly when it comes to good governance, the whistleblowers bill. The Prime Minister has indicated that the bill will be going to, the draft bill, will be going to the cabinet by the end of July. We have not seen a copy of this draft, so we have requested from the Prime Minister a copy of the draft bill, so draft legislation, so that we are ready to place our recommendations and our concerns, if any, before they advance on the legislation. And as you can see what’s happening in this country right now, there is a dire need for a whistleblower’s bill. But he has indicated that there is movement and we are expecting a draft by the end of June. When it comes to redistricting the same concern came up that we have not been updated on any progress. And his team and the prime minister indicated that by the end of the 2026 of this year we should be having the completion of this process of redistricting, yet we have not been updated on any part of the process. One of the main concerns that we have given back our recommendation on this issue is that the constitution speaks of 31 seats, can be more but it cannot be less. And of course, we do not feel it necessary, representing workers of this country, who understand that every seat in parliament costs money and we have a small population, we do not see the need for having more than 31 seats. So we have recommended that we keep the 31 seats but ensure that there is fair and equal representation. So that’s our response to the redistricting however we have informed the Prime Minister, keep us informed of the process and if we need to be included, we would want to be included in this process.”
The union leader said the congress continues to advocate for greater transparency and accountability on national matters and believes regular engagement between government and organized labour is essential to achieving that goal./
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