And, from fighting crime to fighting fires….last week, you heard that firefighters at the Belize City branch of the National Fire Service were planning a go-slow after their overtime pay was cut. They also revealed the conditions in which they were forced to work.
Well, the western branch has joined in, and in a letter to the minister, CEO, and fire chief, they stated that they would enact a go-slow until the government meets with them to discuss the issues they are facing as well as the solutions. They also want adequate compensation for additional responsibilities they are being tasked with - such as EMT and technical rescue services - with accompanying legislation, allowances, and an audit of the department's finances.
Well, today they got the first demand. The Minister, Andre Perez, met with the firemen's representatives to discuss the way forward. He clarified that overtime pay won't be cut completely, but that it will be slashed, and said that the firefighters should learn to live on their base salary rather than rely on overtime.
Andre Perez, Minister of Disaster Risk Management
"I want to make clear that that firefighter brought up, they're valid concerns to the point what I want to clarify it was never that they were being neglected or not being looked at. Of course he did say certain things about corruption and embezzlement, that is something, and putting a thing to the fire chief to the point that it's him, and to make clear that the fire chief is just the fire chief, he doesn't run in terms of funds, we have ministry that runs that. So just to clarify that but indeed that stems out from the concern, relates to what happened today, the discussions again when the union and with our CEO. What it boils down to is just an amicable discussion, valid concerns. I do know that the concern that they're not getting paid their overtime, they won't be incurring overtime, to make it clear, no salary cut, we're not taking away from the pay, what we're just saying as a ministry to clarify is as we come to the end of the fiscal year, we need to do some belt tightening. Any prudent ministry looks at these things in February and March for the end of the fiscal year and we have to see that belt tightening."
"Now we're not saying that only your flat salary, which is what you agreed to is having a salary. There will be of course overtime coming in but certainly not to that extreme where some of those firefighters are getting almost double their salary. That's not right, not for them, but rather, in terms of becoming an efficient ministry, I expect my FO and my CEO to bring it to my attention that if someone is incurring so much overtime consistently, then we have to rectify these things."
Courtney Menzies:
"But in their perspective, they're already used to making this and that's what they use to sustain themselves, their family, their loans, whatever else they're paying, so in their mind, even though it's not a salary cut, it's still less salary that they'll be taking home."
Andre Perez, Minister of Disaster Risk Management
"Well, let me tell you something. it is very clear, laid out right here that anywhere you go to work, you didn't go there with the intention that you'll be surviving on overtime. When you budget out, you have to budget that this is my flat salary for the week and I will budget around that then any overtime that comes in I certainly can allocate for that."
Courtney Menzies:
"Will you appealing for maybe a higher budget next fiscal year to try and build that building?"
Andre Perez, Minister of Disaster Risk Management
"Certainly had that discussion this morning with my FO and my AO and of course the fire chief, preparing the next year for the budget. Again, that doesn't expect to be approved but the point is to rightfully asking that no prudent ministry is going to be engaging in creating that same budget for the following year knowing that at the end of the year this is what is going to come, finding yourself in the red, and at the last minute trying to dig here, somewhere finding funds to allocate and to fit for the salary of our firefighters."
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