Kileru Awich

Kileru Awich, Internal Legal Counsel, Belize Telemedia Limited

“You have to understand that this matter of severance has evolved significantly between November and February. There was the company’s initial position, which was that we are going to satisfy severance obligations for those who are within the 6-year limitation period. And if you are outside of the six-year limitation period, the company would not voluntarily pay any severance. Now, the six percent that was paid to those former employees who left within six years, that six was arrived at because the company at that point was not contemplating paying beyond the six-year. Now, you have to appreciate that the company’s position has changed since then, and the company is now going to pay severance payments to those former employees who left within 6 years prior. So the considerations are now very different in terms of interest, because the company has agreed to settle obligations which it has been advised are not statue barred. And then I also need to add that interest is not as of right. This interest which litigants get comes from statutory, from the Senior Courts Act, and you have to plead it. You plead it in your claim at the court, and you succeed in your claim, and the court determines your interest under that provision of the Senior Courts Act. So the company paying interest now is actually the company paying beyond what it is required to pay, because these matters have not gone to court. Only the matter of Erven Marin and his fellow litigants went to court. And that gives you full context as to why.”

Interest Standoff Freezes BTL–Union Negotiations

Negotiations between Belize Telemedia Limited and the Belize Communications Workers for Justice have stalled, as both sides dig in over whether interest should apply to outstanding severance payments. While BCWJ accuses the company of delaying and acting in bad faith, BTL insists it has already settled all court‑ordered payouts and is prepared to process additional claims under Section 183 of the Labour Act. The sticking point now is interest: the union wants terms reflecting what a court might award, but BTL argues that any settlement outside the courtroom requires give‑and‑take. According to Chief Human Resource Officer Kendra Santos, the company is willing to pay interest beginning from the November 2025 benchmark set out in the CCJ ruling, an offer BTL says goes beyond its legal obligations, given how the severance issue has evolved in recent months.

                    Kendra Santos

Kendra Santos, Chief Human Resource Officer, Belize Telemedia

“So if we’re both saying, we’re talking and we’re both saying we don’t want to go to court, the expectation that we will give and you will get everything that you believe you should get if you go to court cannot be the premise that we’re talking, in our view. You can’t think that you will end up getting everything that you believe you would get if you go to court. If it is that we’re talking outside of court and we want to settle, both parties have to agree to get something and to give up something. That’s the spirit in which we approach the discussions. So, your question regarding interest, we had a lot discussion around whether the interest awarded by the court, if you go to court, is applicable or not. We even conceded to the fact that it’s not that interest that’s applicable on the table, the company’s prepared to pay the interest, given that if you want to talk about cost of living adjustment or the fact that there is some premium, my words, premium, if you will, to be given on these monies because they were not paid at the time it was due. And so the company is saying, well, if it is that your argument is that you only became aware of how this severance payment really should be made once and for all, notwithstanding that you’ve asked for years outside of court, but that the CCJ judgment has clarified it for all and sundry, then a good marker to start the interest, because you say I could not have reasonably known that I needed to claim within six years of leaving, I only knew that this was supposed to be the case, November 2025. The company’s prepared to pay the interest from November 2025, benchmarking the six percent against interest that was awarded for those who actually went to court and the court in its own discretion awarded that six percent for them as part of the judgment, right?” 

BTL Rejects Bad‑Faith Claim as Talks Stall

As severance negotiations between Belize Telemedia Limited and the Belize Communications Workers for Justice remain frozen over an interest dispute, BTL is also refuting claims that it acted in bad faith. The company maintains it never walked away from the table and says it continued improving its offers even as talks grew tense. According to Chief Human Resource Officer Kendra Santos, the union’s approach at their last meeting lacked the professionalism needed for productive dialogue. BTL is now urging former employees to contact the company directly, arguing that they can still access their severance outside of BCWJ’s negotiation process.

                      Kendra Santos

Kendra Santos, Chief Human Resource Officer, Belize Telemedia

“I will put it mildly to say that the manner in which we were engaged this last time around, this second meeting, the tone, the spirit, the lack of professional expertise as we would want to see it, was what we were engaged with. And we recognize that for those two reasons, being so far apart, you’re trying to get the six percent and everything that comes with a court judgment, along with the approach, is not the spirit in which we can reasonably negotiate. And that is why, in our view, for those two reasons, it broke down. And why we’re here today, to tell everyone in Belize that the company wants to move forward without delay and settle with everybody in the same manner. So whether you are being represented by BCWJ, whether you write on your own to the mailbox, whether you come to an attorney, whatever it is, BTL’s board has approved that you want to pay and we want to pay in this manner and we think it’s reasonable to give the severance and interest from November 2025, when the judgment was handed down, to whenever we actually got a check for persons.”

Reporter

“Would you, the other side has accused you all of negotiating in bad faith.”

Kendra Santos

“What would be your response to that? The response to that is, we do not agree with terminologies, because we watch the news. We don’t agree with terminologies of us low-balling and in bad faith. So us, bad faith would have been if we weren’t prepared to sit at the table in the first place, if we were not making improved positions, not once did we reduce our position, not once did we withdraw from the table, not once did we get up from the table and walk away.”

And tonight, BTL says it’s ready to move forward, urging former employees to reach out directly as it maintains the breakdown in talks had more to do with tone and approach than any unwillingness to negotiate.

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                  Wilfred Elrington

Wilfred Elrington SC, Attorney for the Defense

“Just another adjournment, nothing new.”

Shane Williams

“was the crown not able to present its…”

Wilfred Elrington

“Yeah, the crown had difficulty getting its submission in so this matter adjourned until the third. So nothing big, just procedural.”

                           Alifa Elrington

Alifa Elrington, Attorney for the Defense

“I believe that there is always a disappointment when you cannot proceed with a trial, either which side. You came prepared to proceed with a trial and we cannot proceed with a trial. However, the decision has been made and we have to go by virtue of what the judge said so we wait and see what happens on Tuesday.”

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                         Dean Flowers

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union

“As I explained to CEO Williams, it cannot be that full grown, experienced men and woman would all hear the same thing. And then communicate that what they heard, and then the ministry now say, that is not what was said. We’re not talking about one person, we’re not talking about two person. We’re not talking about three person. It cannot be that everyone across two terminals would’ve sat in a meeting and heard the same thing, which is what was communicated to us, only to find out that wasn’t said. But in any event, what’s important? What’s important regardless of whether the legal counsel and the chief transport officer would have communicated what was relayed to the union or otherwise. CEO Williams said it is four months that they’re giving them. If that is the fact, or if in fact it was forty-eight hours, that’s irrelevant. What’s important at this point in time is that we have notified the government by way of the CEO and the Ministry of Transport, that the approach that you’re taking is not in line with the established rules, practices of the public service. But what’s important is that communication has started, dialogue has started to date. However, we have not received any formal communication from either the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Transport as it relates to the future of these employees. What you know is what I know is what the CEO would’ve said on the news.”

Flowers Claims Government Steering Public Services into Private Hands

The battle over Belize’s bus terminal workers is widening tonight, and the Public Service Union says it’s part of something much bigger. After accusing the Ministry of Transport of pressuring officers to resign, PSU President Dean Flowers is now warning that the dispute fits into a long‑running push toward privatization, one he says threatens jobs, benefits, and eventually the cost of public services. As the union challenges what it calls an unlawful ultimatum to terminal staff, Flowers argues the government has been quietly shifting key functions out of public hands for years, and terminal management is only the latest step.

                   Dean Flowers

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union

“The Ministry of Finance pull off the same stunt with the com corporate with the companies and Corporate Affairs Registry. The Ministry of Finance is attempting to pull off the same stunt with the police tax services department. I want to take this opportunity also to point out the public officers that we’ve been saying this from a long time, as we stated in our press release, one by one, this administration in particular, and it started on that the Musa and Fonseca regime. It is them that drives this privatization of public service into private hands, and it is now continuing under Briceno, Coye, Courtenay regime. These people are hellbent in privatizing public service and we need to see this for what it is. It will come at a cost not only to the workers but to the very consumers who are not necessarily understanding these moves of privatizing public service. You all sat idly by and watch they picked off those company registry’s employees. You all sat, I will by and watch it, watch out and do it with, with Baja Farmers far back as 2000 KHMH, you all sat back and did nothing, and one by one these departments will be picked off. Will be placed in a private hands, and the next thing that I see coming might very well be the procurement of pharmaceuticals, which doesn’t happen. But with the rolling out and the pumping of public funds in the NHI, which clearly is not providing any alleviation on the public hospitals, they might very decide that they want is one pharmacy procurement unit, whereby the pharmaceutical mafias then can then control all the money. That is currently going in the Ministry of Health. This thing is serious.”

The PSU says the fight over terminal staff is just the latest move in a long push toward privatization, one it warns could cost workers and consumers much more in the long run.

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                    Anita Nemhard

 Anita Nemhard, Court Reporter

“This veranda before this actual change right here, man. This da fi we favorite spot, man. He pan one end, I pan the next end, yeah. It’s sad. I was sad.”

Shane Williams

“What made him fit like you for a job that is very difficult?”

Anita Nemhard

“People used to like look pan ah and think this man can’t run and do ih job but if da never me the run through the back da he the run through the front. We used to always say we have to set it up that if I miss he catch and if he catch and I miss, we just shared, we just share our footages or our pictures. We had our issues at times, because sometimes me and him, we work for the same people, but we just had to understand and respect each other’s space. Apart from being the go-getter like we all do inna this field, there was a sweet side to Royo. You have to actually know ah, get fi know ah fi understand.”

Shane Williams

“I know this is not easy. He was like family?”

Anita Nembhard

“Actually Royo grandson is my uncle son soh I hate be the bearer of bad news. So when I heard about it I reached out to everybody that I know, everybody from the media and thing, ’cause actually nobody knew. And I thought that was sad. I’ll always remember no matter what, I’ll always remember Royo. Even when he wasn’t here, he was here. ’cause we always crack up we lee jokes, me, Parks and he. “Gyal Anita you remember when Royo, yeah, he was a real cool dude.”

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Belizeans Split Over New Ruta Maya Finish

Debate over the new La Ruta Maya finish line has jumped off social media and onto the streets of Belize City. Today, we asked residents how they feel about ending the race at the Grand Resort instead of the Belcan Bridge. Vendors worry they’ll lose one of their biggest earning weekends. Longtime fans say the switch chips away at a tradition they’ve honored for decades. Others welcome the change, arguing it could make the finish safer and fairer for paddlers. One thing is clear; however, Belizeans care and they have plenty to say about how this move affects community spirit and livelihoods. Here’s what we heard.

                  Belize City Resident #1

Belize City Resident #1

“People weh really want see the race and done get into it like Cross Country, it turn tradition, people would to go out there, especially the ice man weh shub ih cart and go out there to sell. The small vendors that they call mom and pop. Those are the people that will suffer, because they are looking forward to the day when they can do their special hustle. So, I don’t know what is in it. You have to consult with people that are the organizers.”

                    Belize City Resident #2

Belize City Resident # 2

“One of the main problems is that I watch the race for several years and they often have problems coming into the creek because it is narrow. And some of the athletes they are so close to win, that by the time they fall out the boat, it is an advantage. So if they have the finish line where it is clear then everybody have a fair chance of winning the race. I agree with the change.”

              Belize City Resident #3

Belize City Resident #3

“I nuh really watch that like that. So, at the end of the day, if they want to change it then they can change it. I don’t have the power to change that back. So, I just leave everything and I stress pan things weh I can change you know. Anything I cant change I don’t stress on.”

                Belize City Resident #4

Belize City Resident #4

“I don’t think that is something that should have been done, because that is the route of the Mayans. That is the original route. So, they should not change it you know. This only have ten miles. I cant go up there and come back. It might shut down on me and I can’t come back home. So, I might have to watch it on TV now.”

                Belize City Resident #5

Belize City Resident #5

“Basically I think that the people have the say and the contestants that are in the competition. So I think if they don’t feel pleased about what is happening then they should voice their opinion and do something about it. I don’t really guh watch La Ruta Maya, but the city nuh agree with, so more than likely it’s something they are not please by.”

                  Belize City Resident #6

Belize City Resident #6

“Why they don’t keep on doing it they way they were doing, because all of us already use to watching it at Civic every year. So why will they change it for, why?”

Belize City Resident #7

“Basically they are doing it where they are making money and we poor people nuh wah make none. So they are doing it where they are making money. So it change us from making money and surviving.”

As public reaction grows, the finish‑line dispute has become less about location and more about fairness, tradition, and who the change really serves.

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The post BCA Warns of Major Action Against Ruta Maya first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Shane Williams

“I don’t know if there’s an update on the meeting that was canceled in terms of the Sara, but this must be frustrating for the union and for you personally as president.”

                      Dean Flowers

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union

“It’s very frustrating Shane. It’s extremely frustrating. Yesterday right before I entered very important meeting with the IDB I got, I, these calls were coming in unfortunately our visitors from the IDB did not see a calm president. There are terms when I can calm. It is just a reflection of the frustration by the Briceño administration that is hellbent on violating the rights of public officers and that is hellbent on putting public services in private hands. This is their mantra. It started under Fonseca and Musa and it now continues under like I said, Briceño, Coye, Courtenay, because those are the major players in all of this recent statutorization and privatization of public service that is occurring.”

Shane Williams

Is there an update on the cancel meeting for SARA?

Dean Flowers

“As it relates to Sara for date, we have not heard absolutely nothing from the financial secretary. As a matter of fact, I know he absented himself from the IDB MPS meeting yesterday, which focused on modernizing of the public service. I don’t know what he’s hiding from or who he’s fighting from, but at the end of the day, we have to sit around the table and I’m hoping that the. Ministry of Labor. I’m hoping that the labor commissioner will start doing her job. If the labor commissioner was doing her job, that meeting that was canceled would’ve never been canceled because she would’ve been there to, to chair that meeting if the labor commissioner was doing her job.”

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                      Dean Flowers

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union

“If the labor commissioner was doing her job, that meeting that was canceled would’ve never been canceled because she would’ve been there to, to chair that meeting. If the labor commissioner was doing her job these surprises that the tax officers in SARA, or in BTSD are going through, these surprises that took these officers in the Ministry of Transport; she has a duty and an obligation to ensure that workers rights and the Labor Act is respected and followed. Where is the labor commissioner in all of this? She meets with them from what the CEO informed me that they met with the labor commissioner. If they met with the labor commissioner, the Labor Commissioner then has a duty and a responsibility to ensure that they are present when these type of communication are being delivered to the workers. And the labor Commissioner has a duty and an obligation to ensure that the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance, communicate with the legal bargaining agent. What then becomes the purpose of the child, prioritized body and the Labor Advisory Board? If the Labor Commissioner will not call employers accountable to follow the law and to respect collective bargaining agreements? And this is what happens when we corrupt and pervert the recruitment processes in public service. This is exactly what happens. People assume offices that they come up that they leave a whole lot to be desired. And then when you hold them accountable and you critique constructively their poor performance, oh, it’s personal, oh, it’s political. Hell no, it’s not. It’s not. It’s holding you accountable. You ask for a job. You are given a job. Do your job, please do your job.”

Flowers says this latest criticism boils down to one message for the Labour Commissioner, step up, enforce the law, and protect the workers who are depending on her.

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                    Eluide Miller

Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor, Belize City

“My understanding and coming out of the same meeting that we had with MIDH, my understanding is a more permanent fix will be executed to that entire thoroughfare, right? What happened is with the replacement of the BelCan Bridge, the Chetumal – that bridge and the entire boulevard will become extremely important as it will serve as an alternate route, right. And so MIDH recognizes it. Us at the city, we recognize that this boulevard will need to be completely rehabilitated. They have done some work there recently, as you have seen, and we have promoted that work on our page as well and we remain thankful for it. But a more permanent upgrade to that boulevard is necessary and MIDH has committed to executing that work ahead of the replacement of the BelCan Bridge, as it will again serve as an alternate route into and out the city noh.  And so we have received a commitment from MIDH that those works will be done as you have, as we’ve faced some challenges with that especially when we’re faced with inclement weather. But we’re very much happy to hear that are more permanent solution will be executed.”

Miller says the real relief will come once that full rebuild of Lake‑I Boulevard starts, giving drivers a sturdier route before the bridge shutdowns hit.

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