By: Omar Silva, NP Staff Writer

Belize City: Thursday 2nd March 2023

Representatives from joint unions and the government in Belize have been holding discussions to work out the finer details of how and when the increment freeze on public officers' and teachers' salaries will be lifted. While many might have their take on how easy those exercises could be, for the parties that are engaged, it is a timely process of discussions. The government negotiator, Minister of Education Francis Fonseca, has explained that the unions want to collect their increments for the past two years, but that is not something that can be realized this year. The unions are not in agreement with linking the unfreezing of increments to pension reform, and there has been talk of revising the appraisal instrument to ensure accuracy in terms of performance scores.

The President of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers, has reported progress in the discussions, including a commitment to unfreeze increments this year, but the two sides have not yet agreed on the date for this to happen. There is always a balance that needs to be struck between the demands of the unions and what the government can meet in terms of those demands and the time-frame in which they can do so. The government has also recognized the need to look at existing public officers in the pension reform system versus those who are new to it, and no plan or decision has been proposed yet.

Belize National Teachers’ Union President, Senator Elena Smith, has told the media that the discussions were frank and cordial, but no definitive conclusions have yet been met. The unions have suffered two lost increments, and the government has said that they are prepared to continue having a discussion about how that can be looked at in the future. The effective start date of the unfreezing of those increments has been the real difference in the positions of the two sides. Initially, the government had proposed September first, but after discussions in Cabinet, they brought that forward to July first. The union’s position has always been that it should be effective April first, 2023.

In conclusion, the discussions between the joint unions and the government in Belize are ongoing as they try to work out the details of lifting the increment freeze on public officers' and teachers' salaries. While progress has been made, there are still differences to be ironed out, including the date for the unfreezing of increments and the issue of lost increments. The government has also recognized the need to look at existing public officers in the pension reform system versus those who are new to it, but no plan or decision has been proposed yet. The discussions have been described as frank and cordial, and both sides are working towards finding a solution.