For many working Belizeans, payday no longer stretches to the end of the month. That frustration brought union members, teachers and concerned citizens to Belmopan for the “Enough is Enough” protest. They demanded relief from rising costs and action on eleven stalled good-governance reforms, warning that they are tired of promises without results. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
More than one hundred and fifty protesters gathered outside the National Assembly, even though the House of Representatives had met a day earlier. They came with two main demands: ease the financial pressure on working families and deliver the accountability reforms unions have pursued for years. Organizer Marianne Ramclam says the scheduling setback did not weaken their resolve.
Marianne Ramclam
Marianne Ramclam, Organizer
“We’re here and we’re standing up for accountability. We’re standing up for transparency, and we’re standing against all odds because you know what? Belize matters. The people of this nation matters. Our children matters, and the future of our country matters.”
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize joined the protest as it continues pressing the government on eleven outstanding demands. NTUCB President Ella Waight says the unions are reviewing the government’s latest proposals. One measure they welcome is a possible reduction in the twenty-five-percent personal income-tax rate, which Waight says could offer workers some relief.
Ella Waight
Ella Waight, President, NTUCB
“The one that did catch my eye obviously is the proposal to income tax to reduce the twenty-five percent income tax charged on persons who work, and that was one of the recommendations NTUCB had provided to him. We didn’t provide a fifteen percent. We didn’t go as low as that, but we did ask, we did recommend, definitely lower than twenty-five percent. So if that could come into fruition, that will definitely help our workers who are, who are finding it very difficult to meet their daily expenses and paying bills.”
Ramclam says union members face the same rising bills as the wider public, making their support an important part of the campaign.
Marianne Ramclam
“I’m glad to see that the unions have joined in just like ordinary Belizeans. And, and come to think of it, they’re ordinary Belizeans just like you and I. Ordinary people. So, behind the unions we have a group of like-minded individual, and they came out today because they too say that enough is enough.”
For teachers, the pressure extends from their homes into their classrooms. Nadya Martinez, a member of the BNTU’s Belmopan branch, says teachers often spend hundreds of dollars from their own pockets on supplies, even as they struggle to cover their monthly bills.
Nadya Martinez
Nadya Martinez, BNTU, Belmopan Branch
“This is my point of view, the teachers does not get any pension until sixty years. We’re not living that age anymore. The expenses, all the owing, like what Mr. Dennison said, we broke before payday. It’s only at the end of the month we get paid. Things need to get better. That little allowance that he gave us, we appreciate it, he’s going to give us, let me make that correction. The union just finished met, and he agrees to give a little allowance of three hundred dollars, I believe, for our expenses for school. But listen to me, I spent almost one thousand dollars into my classrooms for September. So three hundred dollars is meager. It’s nothing.”
But demonstrations over the cost of living have also become a wider fight over trust. Christian Workers Union President Leonora Flowers says years of meetings have produced little movement on promised reforms, including measures connected to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
Leonora Flowers
Leonora Flowers, President, Christian Workers Union
“Enough of all the suffering. Enough of us going back over and over the same thing to the prime minister and his cabinet. Enough is enough. We have UNCAC that they’ve had for many, many years, and we’ve sat down, I’ve sat down at least in three meetings with the prime minister, and it has not moved. Promises, promises, promises. Enough is enough. We have to mean that.”
The protest has ended, but the campaign has not. Organizers say they will continue pressing the government for relief from rising costs and action on long-promised reforms. For the workers gathered in Belmopan, the message was simple: promises will no longer be enough. Britney Gordon for News Five.
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.
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