Teachers Union Accepts 4.5% Salary Increase with More to Come in 2026

All three unions of the JUNT have agreed to accept the government’s offer of a four-point five salary increase followed by the remaining four percent come next year.  The ending to this rocky negotiation formally ended yesterday when the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) reported that 75 percent of its voting membership agreed to the offer.  The former education minister, Francis Fonseca, is one of the government’s negotiators, who spoke this morning on the elements of the agreement and the negotiating period.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “This last proposal, which I’m very happy has been accepted by all three unions; the PSU, the BNTU, and the APSSM, is as has been reported over a two-year period, we have always said, and we’ve made this very clear from the very beginning, there is no question about us as a government giving the 8.5%.It was always, the issue was always, how would that be implemented?”

Ann Marie Williams, Host, The Morning Show: And the timing. 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “The timing, exactly. Our first proposal was that we would do it over a three-year period because that was the advice we were getting from the Ministry of Finance in terms of how this could be done in a responsible, sustainable way. Each time we’ve gone back, we’ve sat with the Ministry of Finance, crunched the numbers to see how we could do more. And that eventually led to this third proposal where we’re giving the unions and giving the public service and teachers four and a half percent salary increase effective October 1st of 2025. The second four percent will be in October of 2026. And then as you all know as well, we’ve all agreed that we would what they call unfreeze two increments that had been frozen during COVID. So those will be given back, if you like, to the teachers and public officers first in April of 2026 and then the second one, I believe, April of 2027. And what you have around the table are good people, good people who want better for their membership, who want better for Belize. And I like to think that that’s on both sides of the table. We have a shared commitment, as I always say to them. We have a shared commitment to the development of this country, to creating opportunities for the people of this country. That’s our duty and obligation, a shared duty and obligation. Sometimes we have different paths to achieving that objective and that’s OK, exactly. In a democratic society we should have differences of opinions and ideas, different ideas about how we achieve goals and objectives.”

The demand for an increase in salary was triggered in early April when a leaked memo indicated that all CEOs and the Cabinet Secretary would be getting a salary increase.  According to Minister Fonseca, while the pay raise for public officers and teachers is settled, there is the need to streamline salary increases.  He noted that such a move would prevent any further uprisings from the unions, and prolonged negotiations.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “We’ve also had a broader discussion and conversation with the unions about  how we approach these issues moving forward, right? So that, and I certainly felt very strongly about this. You know we should not be every few years  having to,  you…”

Ann Marie Williams, Host, The Morning Show: Jostle for money.
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “Yeah, exactly. Let’s design a formula that looks at the cost of living on an annual basis or on a biannual basis whatever we can agree on.  How can we make those adjustments, that COLA adjustment in a responsible way in terms of the economy and meeting the needs of the economy and the people of Belize. So I think that’s the conversation we’re going to have now. We’re entering into a new CBA negotiation with the JUNT starting very shortly. So we want that to be a part of the conversation.”