Majority of PSU Members Reject Government’s Salary Proposal

Preliminary figures from the Public Service Union (PSU) poll have indicated that they too are rejecting the government’s proposal regarding salary increase.  The union’s executive met this afternoon to analyze the data from yesterday’s voting, but an official report is still pending.  Information to Love News say that more than fifty percent of the PSU’s membership voted with ninety five percent of them rejecting the proposal.  We further understand that while the PSU did not start out asking for a salary increase, its mandate is now for an eight point five increase, and not the three percent that the government is proposing.  The preliminary voting results also show that an estimated eighty percent has rejected the offer on the increments.  According to one union source, the PSU is now looking to meet with the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) to cement a joint stance.  Interestingly, we understand that the PSU is open to negotiations with the government, but with the provision that the Briceno Administration takes a firm and unwavering stance in collecting outstanding taxes, and to take other measures to add to its revenues.  Up to yesterday, however, Prime Minister John Briceno had stated that the government has no financial room to offer more to the unions at this time.

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “It’s important for the public to understand. When we met with the unions, they were asking for 8%. We are, in effect, giving them 14.5% because we are raising their salaries and we are unfreezing two of them increments. Each increment is approximately 3%. That would be 6%. And you add the 8.5%, you’re looking at 14.5%. That is what we’re offering them. And now for them……  they ask for 8.5%, we’re giving them 14.5% and yet they’re still rejecting it. I don’t think they’re acting in good faith. When we ask them to take a 10% cut and to freeze increments, we’re asking for everyone to make a sacrifice. During COVID, they got their full 100% salaries and they were not teaching most of the time, or after some of them teaching online. So they got their full salary. We had, it was about 30% unemployment rate of about 30%, another 30% of underemployment, that people working the full week were but not getting their full salaries. I remember the people from I think Love FM they got a 50 percent cut during that time and they could not go back to their bosses and say, give me back with you takeaway. That’s a part of the sacrifice that is asked from everyone, so they were to sacrifice. Also, we asked them for a pay cut for three years, we did it for one year. We asked them wage freeze or for three years we did it for two with the emoluments. So now here we’re coming in good faith and say all right, we’re going to give you back. So in effect they made almost no sacrifice during that time. Everybody needs to do their part. We can only give what we have. It’s unfortunate that they’re using the children as hostages and they can continue to do so, but we can’t give what we don’t have.”

Love News will keep following this story.