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And so, as the strike continues into next week, what will happen to Catholic Schools?  Last night as we told you the Bishops sent out a statement saying, quote, Â Ã¢â‚¬Å“we support the appeal for students and teachers to get back to the classroom. Â The education of our young people is our primary concern. Â Other means besides strikes can be used to pressure the government for reforms to insure good governance.â€￾  So then, did Catholic Schools open today?  They didn’t. We did a tour through the city of the largest Catholic Schools going from St. John Vianney, to St. Martin’s De Porres to St. Ignatius, to Palotti, to SJC, to St. Joseph, to Holy Redeemer, to St. Catherine’s and none of them were open.  This is after the Apostolic Nuncio to Belize, basically Rome’s representative in Central America, said on Wednesday, quote, “I want to see all the Catholic children at school, then we will speak…I prefer children to be at school…If we are playing around with our children, we are killing them.â€￾

But that hasn’t budged the Catholic teachers who make up the majority of the BNTU membership, as the strike enters its second week.  The last time the teachers went on a major strike was January 2005, and that one lasted for ten school days.  During these strikes, teachers don’t get paid – which amounts to a substantial loss of earnings – but reports to us suggest they do get some compensation from the union’s strike fund.