As BTL pushes ahead with its proposed acquisition of Speednet, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize says one key voice has been sidelined: organized labor. NTUCB President Ella Waight says the union body has consistently placed its concerns on record, but those concerns have not influenced the process. She argues that BTL has shown disregard for the unions’ position on a major national issue. Now, with the Public Utilities Commission expected to make the final call, Waight is expressing open distrust in the very regulator tasked with deciding whether the deal should proceed.
Ella Waight, President, NTUCB
“We don’t want to just be heard, we are not an entity that just want to be heard, we want to be adhered to. We want to be taken seriously and our recommendations adhered to. We don’t sit here to be heard. If that is the case, forget BCCI, forget NTCUB on any board of directors on SSB on BTL. We are not just here to be place holders. We are here to make meaningful input and provide guidance from the congress which represents workers of this country.”
Paul Lopez
“What is your level of trust for the PUC?”
Ella Waight
“None, I will be very honest at this point, none, because they have not met with us. And it is not because we have not tried. We wrote them at least two times asking for a meeting, clarifying what is happening, we do not know. But those letters were not even responded to, so at this point we have no trust in them.”
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
