Today's conversation with the president also gave the press an opportunity to ask her about her no-vote last week Tuesday in the Senate for the Government's new Belize Territorial Dispute Referendum Law.
That bill went to the Senate last week where it passed with the support of 6 UDP Senators, plus the Church and the NGO Senators. Labour Senator, Smith, as well as the Business Senator and 2 out of the 3 PUP Senators opposed.
Our colleagues asked Senator Smith why she voted no, and she said that was her instruction, taken from the majority position of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize. Here's how she explained that process:
Hon. Elena Smith, National President - BNTU
"The NTUCB has 10 unions that a part of the NTUCB. We also have an advisory committee and so how that process works, that when I get my documents I will send it out to NTUCB. The NTUCB in turn would send those documents to our 10 affiliates who should then share it with their members so that their members could give them feedback on those bills. When we get those feedback, we have a advisory committee who sits and looks at the feedback that we get from the various unions. We do not dictate to the unions how they do their consultations. So we do our job of sending them the information and they must get from their people. whether it's their council of management or the executive or they go to their membership and they get from them a position or feedback. That is then sent to the advisory committee. The advisory committee looks at all that we received from our various affiliates and based on what we received, the majority position then is what we take and that is what I present in the senate. So when I present a position it is not my position, or it is not BNT's position either. It is the position of the NTUCB and its the majority of those who respond to the bills and documents we send out to them and that is how our process works."
Notably as we reported, PUP Senator Valerie Woods abstained from the division on the bill, which is now law.
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