Posted: Monday, June 9, 2025. 5:07 am CST.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Former Belmopan Area Representative John Saldivar is standing firmly behind the call for full salary restoration for public officers and teachers, saying it’s a matter of fairness, not a request for new raises.
In a strong statement issued this week, Saldivar emphasized that the 8.5% salary cut imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic was meant to be temporary—a sacrifice made by public servants to help stabilize the economy during one of its darkest hours.
“This is their request. It is not a request for a new increase in salaries but a request for restoration of salaries,” Saldivar wrote. “It is only fair that with the Prime Minister now boasting of his masterful recovery of the Belizean economy, that public officers and teachers should see their salaries restored to the pre-COVID levels.”
Saldivar referred to the Prime Minister’s own budget speech, where Briceno highlighted the dire economic conditions in 2020—citing a 14.1% economic contraction, a ballooning 132% debt-to-GDP ratio, and a salary freeze for public sector workers. Yet, the PM also praised his government’s success in achieving a primary budget surplus each year and reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 61%—seven years ahead of IMF projections.
“How did you achieve those surpluses, sir? On the backs of public officers and teachers,” Saldivar said. “There is no genius in that, only the blood, sweat, and tears of public officers and teachers.”
Saldivar slammed the government’s continued refusal to restore salaries, calling it a reflection of poor priorities. “A budget is an expression of a government’s priorities. By not placing the salary restoration in the budget, the Prime Minister is telling public officers and teachers they are not a priority.”
He also criticized what he described as a “bogeyman scare tactic” from the Financial Secretary, who warned that tax increases might be needed if salaries are restored. Saldivar dismissed this as a divisive move designed to turn the public against teachers and civil servants.
“To my beloved public officers and teachers—Quo Vadis? You decide how far you are prepared to go to make yourselves a priority,” he concluded.
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The post John Saldivar backs public officers and teachers on salary restoration: “This is about fairness” appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Former Belmopan Area Representative John Saldivar is standing firmly behind the call for full salary restoration for public officers and teachers, saying it’s a matter of fairness, not a request for new raises.
The post John Saldivar backs public officers and teachers on salary restoration: “This is about fairness” appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
