It is a good year for public officers as the government of Belize announced on Wednesday, July 3rd, that 3.6 million dollars which was being held in a Government Savings account has been transferred to the Trustees of the Public Sector Workers’ Trust. The money accumulated after the UDP government in 1995 gave the Public Service Union and the Belize National Teachers Union 794,732 shares in Belize Telecommunications Limited, now Belize Telemedia Ltd. (BTL).
The shares were given in lieu of a freeze in increments between April 1, 1995 to March 31, 1997. This represented compensation for the frozen annual increments for public officers and teachers. Since the time of the transfer to present the shares have been earning dividends which were held in a separate savings account in trust for the public officers and teachers.
In 2007, the said shares were transferred into the joint names of the Public Service Union and the Belize National Teachers Union, but the dividends earned up to that time continued to be held in the Government Savings Account pending the establishment by the Unions of a Trust for the purpose of funding various projects for the benefit of the affected public officers and teachers and their families. The dividends earned on the shares since 2007 were placed in a commercial bank account under the control of the unions. These dividends up to 2013 amounted to some 2.04 million dollars.
 The Unions have now submitted a Trust Deed for the said purpose, which appoints four Trustees, namely, Raymond Davis, Nadia Caliz, Philip Castillo and Enrique Iglesias as representing the Public Service Union, Belize National Teachers Union, Nurses Association of Belize, Belize Defence Force and the Belize Police Association. After some review, approval has been granted for the control of the said Savings Account to be transferred to the named Trustees.
In a release from the government it states that “All public officers, teachers and open vote workers (including those who have since retired) whose increments were frozen during the period 1995 to 1997 may contact the Trustees for further information about the benefits payable to them.
