By Belize Live News Staff: Government efforts to end a salary standoff with public sector unions have failed, as the Joint Union Negotiating Team (JUNT) has now rejected a second proposal which included a 4% salary increase tied to pension reform.
Union leaders say members overwhelmingly rejected both offers—first a 3% raise with phased increment recovery, and now the 4% offer, which they argue is deceptive due to its connection to the controversial contributory pension plan.
Sharon Frazer of APSSM was blunt: “It’s subject to pension reform… and the letter emphasized it. If you give me 4%, you will take back 5%.”
Dean Flowers, PSU President, said his members are done talking. “The general membership looked at the first offer and rejected it, and when the second came in, it was even worse,” he said. “We are declaring a trade dispute. The next step is industrial action.”
The BNTU’s Nadia Caliz added that over 50% of their membership voted and the majority rejected the second offer. “The fact that it’s tied to pension reform is a red flag,” she explained. “We know it’s a matter of when, not if.”
The unions have now put the government on notice: return with a better proposal or face national disruption.
