NTUCB President to GOB: “Treat the Joint Unions with respect”

Acting properly and treating the Joint Unions Negotiating Team with respect: that’s what the President of the National Trade Union Congress has insisted Government must do. During a press encounter, Luis Luke Martinez has not only heaped criticism on the Government of Belize for taking the unions for granted but insisted that the team has raised legitimate concerns. He said that it’s high time that those longstanding issues, including that of frozen increments and good governance, be addressed straight away. 

Luis Luke Martinez, President, NTUCB: “The Government of Belize has been taking the joint unions for granted for too long and the points that they’re making are justifiable points. There is no going around the fact that one, the collective bargaining agreement has to be addressed. The proposal 22 has to be addressed I mean the government coming to tell the joint unions and telling the teachers that the churches are broke is foolishness right ? And the churches need to find a way to open their books to justify that they’re broke indeed and the president of BNTU is correct , if you believe that the churches are broke then you cover the 30% of behalf of them but the teachers cannot continue to suffer. As it relates to the point that the joint unions are making as it relates to the restoration of the increments for public officers and the government trying to tie that to a contributor pension is foolishness. If you want to have a contributor pension then you try to find a way to do it the proper way and don’t talk about oh I’ll just do it to the new fiscal year you can’t do that, that foolishness, that stupidness right ? So we continue to support the joint unions in their call to the government to act in proper manner and to treat the joint unions with respect. We’re hoping that because the government knows that this is something that needs to happen then we don’t have to go through all of that run the people’s increment now mi bredda.”