• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Friday, April 23, 2021 AMANDALABelize Page 1 NO. 3454 BELIZE CITY, FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 (36 PAGES) $1.50 Unions picket House Meeting “If it is that we are going to shut down this country to ensure that the good governance discussions are materialized...that is what is going to happen,” says Luke Martinez, president of the NTUCB. BELMOPAN, Thurs. Apr. 22, 2021 proposed salary cuts and increment The first day of budget debates for freezes and to make a firm, loud call the fiscal year 2021-2022 began for the implementation of the UNCAC today amid a deadlock between the and other good governance reforms. Briceño administration and the public While the parliamentarians sector unions. debated the austerity budget inside Members of the Belize National the National Assembly building, the Teachers Union, the Public Service modest group of protesters positioned Union, the Nurses Association of themselves on the steps outside, Belize, and the National Trade Union practicing social distancing and Congress of Belize gathered near the mask-wearing under the watchful periphery of the National Assembly Building to protest the government- Please turn toPage 35 Nurses Assn. joins BCCI says, the picket line resume KHMH staff might negotiations escape salary cuts by Kory Leslie (freelance writer) Belize City, Tues. Apr. 20, 2021 Amid the ongoing demonstrations by the BNTU, the Prime Minister, BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 22, 2021 John Briceño, met with the Karl The Belize Chamber of Commerce Heusner Memorial Hospital Workers and Industry (BCCI) is urging the Union (KHMHWU) to discuss Government of Belize and the Joint whether they will be classified by the BELMOPAN, Thurs. Apr. 22, 2021 Unions to return to the negotiating table government as public servants, in The leadership of the Nurses in good faith to resolve the current light of the salary cuts that will be Association of Belize (NAB) joined issues between them. affecting most government employees members of the PSU and BNTU in The Chamber notes that if the who have that status. The president standoff between the unions and the of the KHMHWU, Lidia Alpuche Please turn toPage 2 Please turn toPage 35 Please turn toPage 34 PM recommends Froyla Tzalam for GG BNTU gives notice of strike (See story on page 30) Education, Francis Fonseca; his CEO, Diane Maheia, and the Chief Education Officer, Yolanda Gongora, and was written by the national president of the BNTU, Elena Smith, on the direction of the council of management for the union. BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 22, 2021 notice of strike action to commence “The grounds for such industrial The Belize National Teachers on Monday, April 26, 2021. action is to express our Union (BNTU) has sent a letter to the The letter, dated April 15, 2021, Ministry of Education giving official is addressed to the Minister of Please turn toPage 32 Commerce Bight Port dispute rages on (See story on page 4) Page 2 AMANDALABelize Friday, April 23, 2021 BTL terminates 24 Miriam Rodriguez charged Rodriguez, who is reportedly employees Reyes’ sister-in-law, has since been charged with manslaughter by negligence, causing death by careless conduct, driving with alcohol concentration, negligent wounding, and harm and was arraigned at the San Pedro Magistrate Court and released on bail. She is expected to return to court on June 24, 2021. Eyewitnesses of the accident told the San Pedro Sun that speeding could have been the cause of the golf cart flip, and remarked that it was a loud and violent accident. The boyfriend of the victim said that he had been waiting at home for her to arrive when he heard the wailing of his sister, who informed him of the SAN PEDRO, Ambergris Caye, Tues. accident. He ran to the site, where he Apr. 20, 2021 found Reyes on the ground, bleeding In the mid-week issue, we reported profusely from a head injury. on a fatal road traffic accident that took She was taken to the Otto Rodriguez by Kory Leslie (freelance writer) offset the company’s losses, which led to the terminations of the twenty-four the life of an 18-year-old, Bianca San Pedro Polyclinic, where she was Reyes. Reports at the time were that pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. on BELIZE CITY, Mon. Apr. 19, 2021 BTL employees. Reyes was in a golf cart being driven Saturday, April 17. The death of this Following a redundancy exercise, the The press release from the company by Miriam Rodriguez, 27, that young, vibrant woman has left her Belize Telemedia Limited this week includes a message from the company’s ultimately overturned. Reyes was family and friends shocked and terminated the employment of twenty- CEO, Ivan Tesucum, which states, “The reportedly flung out of the overturned heartbroken. Reyes was originally from four of its employees — a decision that BTL Leadership Team has worked cart and suffered severe injuries that the village of Independence, where she it has described as “difficult but diligently and tirelessly each month to caused her death. is expected to be laid to rest. necessary”. On Monday, BTL issued a navigate these turbulent and statement claiming that COVID-19 has unpredictable times. This reduction in caused a structural over-capacity which workforce is a difficult but necessary began in March of 2020, which has led step, and one that we take with great Norwegian Cruise Line to to the redundancy exercise and the sadness. We are deeply grateful for the subsequent terminations. unwavering support over the years from The release goes on to state that the our dedicated employees. We are keen resume calls to Belize company’s revenues have fallen by on treating everyone with the greatest BZ$33 million over the last fiscal year, respect and consideration throughout which made the reduction of staff this process. Further, we are focused necessary to limit the effects of that on ensuring the viability of our company revenue contraction. The staff was as we steer our organization to recovery engaged on the matter and were in the coming months and years. This presented with a number of “cost- necessary restructuring will in no way optimization measures” that would be impact the level of service we provide implemented in phases, depending on to our valued customers. I am confident the severity of the economic hit due to that our capable and resilient team the pandemic, the BTL release further combined with the right approach will explained. find the opportunities in these As a result, the company engaged challenging times to guide BTL through in a hiring freeze, and it reduced the worst economic period of our planned capital spending, operational country.” expenses, management salaries and According to BTL, they had allowances, and staff allowances. It consultations with the Belize also decided that management bonuses Communications Workers Union and would be foregone and that it would the Labor Commissioners to ensure BELIZE CITY, Wed. Apr. 21, 2021 expected to do a conditional lifting defer staff- bonuses and reduce the they remained aligned with Belize’s After more than a year, of the no-sail order. NCL and other stipends given to members of the Labor Laws while enacting this Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is cruise lines are adding homeports Board of Directors as of March 2021, decision. Employees who were let go expected to resume calls to Belize, within Caribbean destinations to which saved the company about reportedly received additional benefits starting this summer, according to the reinitiate cruises. BZ$24 million. According to the in addition to compensatory packages Caribbean Journal. At the start of the month, the CEO company, however, these stringent to assist them during their time of On August 7, the Norwegian Joy of the Ministry of Tourism. Nicole measures were still not enough to unemployment. ship will leave from Montego Bay, Solano remarked, “[November Jamaica, and make a stop at the 2021] is the current date that we company’s Harvest Caye private have from CDC; however, the cruise Nurses Assn. joins the picket line island location in Belize. lines are now looking at operating While the Center for Disease out of home ports in the Caribbean. Control (CDC) still has a no-sail So that will give us some Continued from Page 1 president of the Nurses Association of Belize, Darrell Spencer, remarked. order for cruises in the United States opportunity for a potential restart protest at the National Assembly He sported a bukut painted red and in effect, in November the center is before then.” today. While the parliamentarians blue, symbolizing the effects of the were carrying on the budget debate, near 40 years during which the Government needs to get the relevant salary cut is useless with a wasteful the nurses were outside demanding a country has been subject to the good governance laws in place to government,” Spencer said. total change in our governance. decisions of “PUDP” governments. curb the wasteful practices of the The vice president of the NAB, “We the people need to demand a “Well bukut here, represent what Government, and he stated that no Alberta Flowers, added, “Salary cut change in our government, nuh fi Belizeans taking for the past 40 years, salary cuts would bring any relief if is not the answer. Imagine, what us change the government; we tired a two decades nearly ah UDP, two these reforms are not implemented. as nurses go through every day. We change government — yo change decades nearly ah PUP, and all weh “No cut for nobody! We are all sacrifice a lot for our country and our monkey or get black dog. We want we get da bukut.

Load more

  36

Copy Link