Email

Print

The second week of rallies brought them today to downtown Belize City, and 7News was at the front row to hear what they had to say, and to count the numbers. Here's how it looked:...

Daniel Ortiz reporting
Approximately 350 teachers moved off from Constitution Park at around 8:30 this morning, ready for the day's rally, taking over Cemetery Road, and the main downtown area, and by the time they got to the Battlefield Park, the stragglers who arrived late boosted the numbers to about 410.

That's the figure that we counted, but the figures from the BNTU is that was actually 575. We didn't see that extra one hundred and 50 in the march, but admittedly, there were some teachers who were already at the Park waiting for the rally to start.

Kathleen E.B. Flowers - President, BNTU Belize City Branch
"The person I had counting told me 475 and with the ones that were added in there was almost 500."

Mike Rudon, reporter Ch 5
"In total, how many teachers are?"

Kathleen E.B. Flowers - President, BNTU Belize City Branch
"I have 675 teachers and then I have a few more that make retired teachers that take us to 720."

But in the Belize District, estimates say that there are seventeen hundred teachers, so even by their count, just under two thirds didn't show up.

Kathleen E.B. Flowers - President, BNTU Belize City Branch
"BNTU Belize branch invited the teachers out. An invitation can be honored and it can be turned down, so we are just taking it to mean that those who didn't come didn't accept the invitation to be a part of the process that we have started here."

Reporter
"Do you look at it as some teachers fighting another just laying back waiting for the sweets to come in?"

Kathleen E.B. Flowers - President, BNTU Belize City Branch
"That's the nature of unionism, there are teachers who sit by and they are the ones that will take it as the freeloaders; they will take on the gains from the fight of the union activist."

The leaders of the BNTU understand that this is one of the downfalls to unionism, but even without the numbers on the ground, the rally was filled with energy, loud enough to disrupt the normal flow in the downtown area.

Orville Melendrez - Treasurer, BNTU Bze City Branch
"I see some people out here in green and I am quite sure that one or two persons that I see out here in green are working with the police department, so even the police is on our side. Even the police is with us."

Ian Mariano - PR, BNTU Bze City Branch
"Tuesday Ramen Shrimp, Wednesday Ramen Beef, Thursday Ramen Oriental, Friday Ramen Hot and Spicy - we have been living like this for quite some time. We have been forced to live on Ramen while our leaders and colleagues get to fly away on jumbo jet and go to fancy restaurants and they get government issued vehicle that are Hummer 2012 and 2014. They get to live in houses and they ge to proclaimed to the nation that they are not normal Belizeans. Let's not forget when we see ministers that when they were campaigning used to ride on bikes, but now they have many huge structures that are yellow and bright."

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"I believe that the teachers got the back of the Belizean people because you are showing it today. You are showing it today despite the attempt at intimidation by the Minister of Education, despite the attempts by some of our principals, despite the intimidation by some of our managers."

This rally, like the other 2 in the north, is being dubbed a call to action on all issues of national importance, but once again, a great deal of time was spent addressing the salary adjustment which is still pending.

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"Brothers and sisters here we are talking bread and butter issue. The only persons that have gotten a raise in this country since 2005 are the ministers of government because you remember they were in opposition, so their salary was smaller. We have not gotten a salary adjustment since 2005 and therefore we stand up today in solidarity and we want to send a message loud and clear to the Minister of Education to try and stop this scare tactics because he cannot scare the teachers because we teachers build this nation."

Eloise Trujeque - Finance Officer, BNTU
"Our salary is getting very low. We as teachers they don't know what we are doing in that classroom, we help those kids. Some of them come hungry and we feed them, we give them supplies and we also put back some of our salaries into the classroom."

Pamela Baird - Teacher
"The cost of living is way up right now and the teachers really need their raise and as well I agree that if we get injury on the job, that Social Security should cover us there and I am against all the corruption that is happening right now, so I am out here for all these reasons."

Mike Rudon, reporter Ch 5
"So, this is just more than a salary adjustment?"

Pamela Baird - Teacher
"Of course it's just more than that."

George Frazer - BNTU Longstanding Member
"It's not only salary adjustment; it is a matter of our national dignity and pride. Yes there are one and two little issues like the floor but we will stick to our position. The main issues are from way back and even in the BNTU constitution, we need to fight for social justice."

Geovanni Brackett, president - COLA
"COLA support the teachers in that they deserve a raise. The cost of living has sky rocketed, but we will even go further; everybody deserve a raise. The minimum wage needs to raise up. This is ridiculous, the cost of living has sky rocketed and people can no longer survived on this small pay."

A number of schools in Belize City didn't have regular classes because of this rally, a free holiday despite the continued heavy criticism the teachers get, they shrug them off.??

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"Another point we need to clear up brothers and sisters - when the minister gets on the radio again and speaks of why don't we do this on a Saturday, well I want to know how effective or how stupid we would have been because that is what he is trying to tell us; be some fools to carry a rally on a Saturday and it wouldn't affect anybody. We will affect him from now until we get what we want, that is what we are about. We do not ask permission when we are battle ready. We are going to do what we have to do because we believe in what we are doing."

Yesterday, at the bike rally, there was a great opportunity to show the public that the teachers are willing to move at any time for the cause they believe in, even if it was on their own time, and even if caused any inconvenience to them. That would have laid to rest any lingering doubt about their commitment. This media house thought it was a matter for fair comment, but the BNTU President clearly didn't think so.

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"Unfortunately for Channel 7, you people always want to give a twist to something. The issue here is not whether the teachers wanted to come out in the afternoon after class or whether they want to come out on a school day. The Belize branch organized something for whatever reason it did not work out, I cannot answer that, but the bottom-line remains still that there were 3 brave teachers who decided to carry out what their branch had agreed to do."

The President also wants it abundantly clear that these rallies have no political influence.

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"The unions have been clamoring for these changes for years, so let nobody tries and trivialize, let no nobody try and skew, let nobody try and get you to change your mind to believe that we are dealing with politics. The only P we are dealing with out here my brothers and sisters is "pay" - that is the P that we are dealing with out here."

Ian Mariano - PR, BNTU Bze City Branch
"We choose the color green because they have to see what we mean and we address to Mister Dean, I feel like I will get into problems, but I don't mind because teachers..."

The BNTU takes the rally to the Cayo District next week, and on January 31, they end off in the Stann Creek and Toledo Districts.