LABOUR DAY 2023 MESSAGE

Greetings and Happy Labour Day! Today, we celebrate the hardworking women and men who are a part of our great work to build Belize. Belizean workers are the backbone of our country and are the reason for our strong rebound. We are also stronger today because of the hard work and advocacy of our unions. From the start, Unions have been at the center of our nationalist movement and, today, we must continue to work with the leadership of our unions to ensure that our workers are fully engaged in the development of our nation.

It cannot be said enough that the actions of our unions help to protect collective bargaining rights, strengthen the middle class, and make workplaces and, indeed, Belize better for Belizeans.

For example, the Unions have been at the forefront of our efforts to address the rising cost of living. They have volunteered to partner with Government and the Private Sector to help address the concern with price gouging and in their regular meetings with the Minister of the Public Service and the Ministerial Team have added great value to our economic bounce back.

It cannot be overstated how much we value the sacrifice of our public officers, teachers, and members of our uniform services for agreeing to Government’s Cost Saving Measures.

That is why this Labour Day we are so happy that we were able to give back the 10 percent that was cut and restore increments ahead of schedule.

The Government has also increased the minimum wage to $5 per hour positively impacting the livelihoods of over 42 thousand workers in the private and public sectors or 23.5% of employed persons. This is one more commitment made in PlanBelize.

This commitment is coupled with the work the Government has undertaken to improve the business environment, increasing investment, and creating more employment thus decreasing the unemployment rate to an all-time low of 5%. For the first time ever, workers who are willing and able to work, can do so!

As we continue with our recovery, we’re going to work as one Belize to address those important issues like the rising cost of living. We will continue with our upliftment program making more than 20 million dollars available to working-class Belizeans for home ownership. That and our drive to strengthen MSMEs and to develop a stronger orange economy are all programs aimed to strengthen the middle class and create new jobs for a new era. And, at the center of it all is our commitment to always support our Belizean workers because together we can build a stronger nation.

To our workers, thank you for sharing our vision to build a Belize that works for Everyone. Stay safe and Happy Labour Day.