On June 4, 2026, as Belize’s legislative body gathered for its scheduled sitting at the National Assembly, a small but determined cohort of ex-employees of Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) assembled outside its gates to amplify their months-long fight for unpaid severance compensation.
Organized under the banner of Belize Energy Workers for Justice, the group centered its demands on urgent government intervention to break the months-long stalemate that has left their severance claims unaddressed. Though their numbers were limited, the protesters made their voices unequivocally clear: they are calling for Prime Minister John Briceño to personally intervene in the dispute, framing him as the only decision-maker with the authority to deliver a just resolution.
In an interview with local outlet News Five, Dorla Staine, a group representative and former BEL worker, outlined the exhaustive steps the group has already taken to resolve the issue outside of legal channels. “We have tried other means. We have protested before. We had press conferences; we have spoken to the minister,” Staine explained, noting that every prior attempt at negotiation has failed to produce a meaningful outcome.
Staine added that officials previously committed to elevate the dispute for a full Cabinet review and examination by the Office of the Attorney General, with pledges of support for the workers’ cause. To date, however, no satisfactory resolution has been reached. Compounding the group’s frustration, BEL has signaled it intends to return to court to re-litigate a matter that has already received a formal ruling, a move Staine says the former workers find baffling.
The choice to protest during a sitting of the House of Representatives was deliberate, Staine emphasized. For the elderly former workers who dedicated decades of their labor to the national utility, the prime minister’s direct attention is the last best hope for ending the impasse before it moves to a drawn-out legal battle. “He has the biggest decision to make and help us, the elderly workers who have already given our time and efforts to the country,” she said.