On September 23, 2026, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) is maintaining steady pressure on the ruling People’s United Party (PUP) government through a series of spontaneous demonstrations and public outreach campaigns, after dismissing the administration’s formal responses to labor concerns as inadequate and disrespectful.
NTUCB President Ella Waight made clear in a public address that while the labor body has no plans to call a full national general strike or mass protest at this stage, the rolling impromptu actions will continue to ensure that working people’s grievances remain at the top of the national political agenda. Waight pushed back hard against widespread public claims that the NTUCB’s actions are rooted in a plot to destabilize and bring down the sitting PUP government, a narrative that has circulated widely in public discourse in recent weeks.
Waight emphasized that the PUP itself traces its founding origins to the Belizean labor movement, and the current administration holds power solely because of the votes of working-class people across the country. That history, she argued, obligates the government to show far greater respect for organized labor and demonstrate more willingness to collaborate with unions on the issues that matter most to their members. Contrary to critics who argue the NTUCB should enter electoral politics if it wants to push for policy change, Waight reiterated that the organization’s core mandate is unwavering: to advocate for the rights and interests of the workers it represents. Because national policy decisions of all kinds directly impact working Belizeans, she explained, the NTUCB has a responsibility to engage with broader national issues – a position that has been misrepresented by opponents to paint the union as an anti-government force.
“That is not what we are doing,” Waight said, rejecting the narrative that the NTUCB seeks to undermine the current administration.
Currently, the NTUCB is in ongoing consultation with a range of social partner organizations to map out its next formal steps. Waight argued that a carefully planned, sustained and targeted campaign will exert far more consistent and meaningful pressure on the government than a single one-day national protest, which would only deliver a temporary burst of attention. For the immediate future, the rolling impromptu demonstrations and public awareness campaigns will continue, keeping the government accountable to the working people that put it in power.
This report is adapted from a transcribed evening television newscast, with original Kriol language commentary translated and transcribed per standard spelling conventions.