In October 2025, while many public sector employees in Belize celebrated a newly implemented salary increase, a significant group of workers found themselves excluded from this financial uplift. Among those left out were employees of the National Library Service, who did not receive the anticipated adjustment in their paychecks. According to Dean Flowers, President of the Public Service Union (PSU), this exclusion stems from the library service’s conversion into a statutory board over two decades ago, which reclassified its workers outside the public officer category. Flowers expressed deep concern over this development, labeling it a ‘sad situation’ and criticizing it as a result of flawed political decisions. He emphasized that these workers are now deprived of not only the salary adjustment but also their pension benefits, which have been ‘wiped out completely.’ Flowers called for urgent action, including the design of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to address the issue. He also warned that other statutory bodies, such as the Belize Tax Services Department, could face similar challenges if economic analyses fail to demonstrate their ability to sustain proposed benefits. Flowers’ remarks highlight broader concerns about the sustainability and fairness of public service reforms in Belize.