PSU Backs Due Process but Says It Will Not Defend Wrongdoing

The Public Service Union says it will defend due process, but it will not defend wrongdoing. In a statement issued today, the union called for prompt and impartial investigations into alleged misconduct involving public officers, including personnel in the Customs and Immigration Departments.  The release follows the charging of forty-five-year-old immigration officer Ruben Manolo Requena with extortion. The PSU stressed that union membership is no shield for misconduct. While officers are entitled to fair representation and an opportunity to be heard, the union said authorities must act decisively when wrongdoing is established through credible evidence.  The position echoes remarks made by PSU President Dean Flowers on June 19 this year, when allegations involving Oscar Mira were prominent in the news. Flowers called for strong disciplinary action against officers found to be facilitating wrong doings in the public service.  

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union: “I want to make it absolutely clear that we’re not only calling for the head of this specific finance officer, if it is that the law was broken or rules were violated, we’re calling for the head of all finance officers who participated in this type of scheme. And I want to make it absolutely clear as my request to the Auditor General stated, this is only one ministry and I’m pretty quite sure that the Auditor General and the Accountant General who sees these entries or who has a duty and a responsibility to see these entries on a daily basis is fully aware that this may spread across all ministries and if it is that all of them need to be dealt with, then deal with them. I don’t care if they’re a member of the union, iIf they’re not members of the union, that is not my concern. My concern is to ensure that as a partner with the Government of Belize and with the people of Belize that we safeguard the assets, the resources of this country and that we manage them properly. We are privileged to have been given the opportunity to work in the public service. And so that comes with responsibility and where wrongdoings is discovered or found, I am calling for strong disciplinary action be taken against those officers whosoever or whomever they are.” 

In today’s release, the PSU reiterated that accountability and workers’ rights go hand in hand. It urged ministries to handle disciplinary matters transparently and consistently, while reminding officers that their conduct reflects on the entire public service