The Prime Minister of Belize Honourable Dean Barrow proved this week that his word can never be trusted and that it is always advisable to enter agreements with him covered in the safety net of black & white documentation and notarized signatures. On Monday, August 31^st, the Prime Minister met with at least 15 members of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize. Twenty-four hours later, the NTUCB issued a release informing the general public and their members of their meeting and outlining 5 points of agreement between the NTUCB and the Prime Minister. Just hours after that, the Prime Minister was on national television claiming that he had absolutely no idea what the NTUCB was talking about and condemning that union for what he called ‘distortions and mischaracterizations.’

The Prime Minister’s language in his interview with Channel 7 and on KREM’s morning show on Thursday left listeners and viewers in no doubt that in his view, the unions are hopelessly misguided and totally wrong. In fact, it seems that the Prime Minister was the only right one in the meeting with at least 15 union members.

But who is wrong, who is right and who is just plain disingenuous? Well, our readers can decide. In reference to the first and most major point in the agreement, the bill to amend the settlement of disputes in essential services act, the NTUCB release states – ‘The Prime Minister agreed to postpone the passing of the Bill to amend the Settlement of Disputes in Essential Services Act (Chapter 298 of the Laws of Belize) until a joint team can do a thorough review of the legislation and recommend a comprehensive amendment which will strengthen the structures in order to guarantee that the law is applied swiftly, equitably, efficiently and effectively in resolving disputes.” That seems clear enough.

But in an interview with Channel 7 just hours after, this is what Prime Minister Barrow had to say – ‘the amendment will not be let go of.’ According to the transcript of the newscast, the PM was ‘very clear that there will be no changes whatsoever to the amendment of the law restricting industrial action by essential services.’

It’s hard to be clearer than that, but this is where it gets confusing. In the UDP Guardian, the PM position is this – ‘The Prime Minister agreed to delay any movement on the bill to amend Chapter 298 which deals with strike actions…the Prime Minister agreed that it is only fair that the NTUCB be given an opportunity to bring additional changes to strengthen the Bill from the NTUCB’s perspective to create a balance.’

So then, the NTUCB’s take on the meeting with the Prime Minister is the same as the Prime Minister’s position as stated in HIS UDP newspaper the Guardian, while his position as told to the media, that is Channel 7 and KREM, is the polar opposite. So who is right, who is wrong and who is being disingenuous?

The rest of the Barrow/NTUCB ‘he said/they said’ is just so much more spin. The NTUCB claimed in its release that the PM agreed to amend the DFC Act to give the NTUCB representation on the Board. The PM said NOT SO – he just agreed to consult about it with the DFC Board and the CDB. The NTUCB release claimed that the Prime Minister committed to assist in the ‘speedy and amicable resolution’ of the BEL/BEWU and BTL/BCWU arbitrations. The PM said NOT SO – the only thing he committed to was calling Lynn Young to ask him to speed up the process.

To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is obvious that the unions have been given their comeuppance once again by the Prime Minister of this nation. On the run up to general elections, Dean Barrow and the UDP were borne on the shoulders of those very unions, and gloried in their strength and ability to move mountains. Now that the peak has been achieved, the unions have no more of a role to play and Dean Barrow has time and again put them in their place, which in his mind is somewhere stage left, far left behind the curtains.

There are not many who will feel sympathy for the leaders of those unions, since speculation is rampant that a majority of them were politically compromised and quite a few of them received the promised ‘plums’ from the Barrow government after elections. But the real issue is Mr. Barrow himself, who has shown that he is willing to give with one hand, take away with the other and state with all sincerity that he never gave anything at all. It is a dangerous trait for a leader who ascended into power on the confidence of Belizeans that he would bear true faith and witness. The confidence of Belizeans has already been shaken, and shaken badly. It is a sign of bad things to come for this Barrow administration, sooner rather than later. And for sure, while they marched in with the unions blowing the trumpets, they will march out alone, completely and utterly alone.

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