PSU Blasts Proposed Mayor Severance Package

There were strong words and pointed criticism at the local and central government from Public Service Union President Dean Flowers during Friday’s Labour Day union rally at the Bird’s Isle.  In a 15-minute speech, Flowers did not mince words, sharply criticizing the Belize Mayors Association, and in particular its president, Rigo Vellos, over reported lobbying efforts for a pension plan or severance package for mayors.  Flowers questioned the timing and priority of such a proposal, arguing that it stands in stark contrast to the realities faced by municipal workers across the country.

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union: “This Labor Day I must begin not with celebration but with a troubling contradiction that has emerged from the very halls of our municipal power, with malice to none. That the Belize Mayors Association head by none other than the president of the Mayor’s Association Corozal Mayor Rigo Vellos has launched a public campaign. What is their demand ? A pension plan. A comfortable retirement package for themselves. They argue that after years of public service they deserve compensation for their hard work. On its face that might sound reasonable but fellow workers we must look beyond glossy surface and examine the record. Let me draw you an analogy. Imagine a ship captain who demands a golden anchor upon retirement. A grand trophy to commemorate his years at sea. Yet while he commands the vessel he refuses to issue a single life jacket to his crew. He blocks their every attempt to organize and advocate for better conditions. He forces them to work without safety harnesses, without clean drinking water, without proper protective gear. When the workers approach the maritime union for help the captain, the very same captain, uses every power at his disposal to block their efforts. When his crew members finally write letters to the Port Authority and the maritime board pleading for intervention the captain ensures those letters go unanswered. Then years later the same captain steps ashore and says “I served, now pay me.”. Comrades, that captain is not a fictional character. That captain is listening, I hope someone goes and sends him a text because I want him to listen. He’s sitting right there in Corozal. Mayor Rigo Vellos, president of the Mayor’s Association is the man who now demands a pension on the backs of tax payers.”

President Flowers then went further, calling out Vellos for what he described as opposition to unionization efforts within his own council, and for the absence of a collective bargaining agreement to protect workers’ rights.  Flowers maintained that such positions undermine the very principles Labour Day is meant to uphold.

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union: “It is the same mayor who has done everything in his power to prohibit the organization and unionization of municipal workers in Corozal. When the workers of Corozal Town Council approached the Public Service Union of Belize in 2023 when Mayor Vellos was the guest speaker for our 101 anniversary seeking assistance in educating and organizing themselves it was Mayor Vellos who made it his business to block every effort by the union. The PSU took the only recourse available, they wrote formal letters of complaint to the labor department and the Mayor’s Association including executive secretary aspiring mayor. And what was the response ? Silence. Stony, absolute, disrespectful silence. Neither authority has acknowledged the correspondence let along responded. This is not leadership. This is tyranny dressed in a sash. And the tragedy does not end at the border of Corozal Town. With the sole exception of the cities of Belize City and Belmopan City municipal workers across the remaining seven municipalities do not enjoy the right to belong to a union or are they covered by any collective bargaining agreement. Let that sink in. Seven municipalities, years of service, millions of hours dedicating to keeping our towns functional, our streets cleaned, our garbage collected, all without the most basic protection of union representation.”

For context on the lobbying efforts of the Mayors’ Association, Belize City’s Bernard Wagner explained to the media last week that they are currently drafting a proposal to present to central government.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize City: “That has been on the table for quite some time and we have discussed it. We have discussed with both at the local government level and with the Ministry of Finance but it is important that our municipal leaders have something to fall back on and I’m not only speaking for myself. I speak for past mayors and that has been on the table. Most mayors, some of them serve two terms, some serve three terms and so you’re at the borderline if you serve three terms you’re at the borderline of ten years of being a public servant so to speak yet many of our mayors in the past as you could see have had little challenges and so we look at how can we better serve our mayors as they move off. If the public servants are able to enjoy some measure of benefits then why not our mayors who serve in an even deeper, higher capacity ? So we’re looking at it. Nothing has been concreted as yet but we continue to work towards it.”