Last night, you heard the Prime Minister accuse the teachers of holding their students hostage by staging a sickout and other industrial action. Today the media spoke with the president of the teachers union - who had an angry answer for the PM. Here's what she said:
Nadia Caliz, President BNTU
"I must use this medium to respond to my PM. According to you, brother, and I said it with respect, Honorable Briceno, according to you, my teachers are holding the students hostage. Honorable Briceno, governments, both red and blue, have been holding us hostage."
"You have been sending us into poverty. When you look at our classrooms, we finance those classrooms. We take care of those classrooms. A teacher with an associate's degree cannot live a comfortable life here in Belize."
"I said this to you when we met on the 16th of May, 2024. And when you are telling me and this country that our teachers are holding the students hostage, you have been holding these students hostage."
"You have not provided what you needed to provide for them. While we applaud the fact that some of them can now get a meal, and my teachers no longer have to take out their pocket to give them that. My teachers are suffering because they have been doing a part of your responsibility as a government, providing those resources, repairing those schools, and all of those things."
"So we at the BNTU, we don't take that lightly. And I'll show you another thing. You are willing to give up millions with the Caye Chapel project, millions. But holding the students hostage or holding the children of the future hostage, that project is a part of the hostage movement that we see going on right now."
And, the union president also attacked what we called the PM's girl math. He told the media that the government is actually giving the teachers a 14.5% increase - Caliz expressed wrath for that math:
Nadia Caliz, President BNTU
"And another thing, you all keep talking about a 14 percent and giving the impression that we are dishonest with our membership. What is it that your letter is saying? Three percent, a reinstatement of the frozen increment come first of April 26th."
"What else is it saying? We have to go in and discuss the five percent so there's no guarantee around the five percent. So please don't be talking about 14 percent when you're black and white is not even committing to 14 percent."
"So I spent an entire day just thinking about all what was said. But I think you all need to listen to Honorable Julius Espat a little bit more because people are suffering out here. PUP government, I will put that part out there for a reason because you applaud yourself about being a PUP."
"I'm a history student. I studied George Cadle Price and the work that he did and how the PUP came into existence. But right now you all are not living up to his legacy. It's about time you take a page out of his book and treat workers with the respect that they deserve."
Email
Print