Close to 90 percent of Belizean teachers and public servants who endured last year’s ten-percent salary cuts are worried about whether they can pay their bills, a recent study prepared for the Department of Education revealed.
Prepared by the Organizational Effectiveness Research Group at Minnesota State University (OERG Consulting), the report “summarizes the results of a survey conducted in the summer of 2021 to assess the extent to which the tiered pay cuts of the Belizean education and public service employees affected employee satisfaction.”
Among the key findings, the study shows that close to 91 percent of respondents indicated that they are worried about their “financial security.”
The study also finds that 55.5 percent of the public workers “do not feel valued by their leadership,” with close to 45 percent of the respondents had considered quitting the public service.
In terms of stress levels, the OERG research found that 49 percent of Belizean public-sector employees are suffering from a mix of stress-related health problems. Notably, the aforementioned figure is above the national average.
Among the almost 400 respondents, 59.2 percent described themselves as being the primary breadwinner for their families.
Additionally, among the respondents, 49 percent worked in education and 51 percent within the public service.
The study also finds that “Belizean employees remain committed to personal development and serving their clients,” despite the salary cut and the reported lack of feeling valued.