Clifford Betson (1897-1974)

A strong and militant unionist, Clifford Betson was born in Belize and received his education in a Methodist School up to the primary level. In 1916 he volunteered with other British Hondurans (later Belizeans) to serve in Mesopotamia, where he was placed in labor battalions for the British troops. Returning to British Honduras in 1919, he was part of the contingent which on July 22, 1919 started a riot in Belize City in protest of the shabby treatment experienced at the hands of the Colonial authorities.

Betson’s agitation surfaced again in 1934 when he joined Antonio Soberanis’ Laborers and Unemployed Association to demand better wages. He himself led a group called the Progressive Party which campaigned for the increased representation of poor Belizeans. As a member of the British Honduras Tradesmen and Workers Union in 1939, Betson went on to serve as President of his own General Workers Union (GWU) from 1944-1950. Through the GWU, Betson was able to achieve wage increases for its branches such as Stann Creek Fruit Workers, Corozal Sugar Workers, the Belize Waterfront Workers, and the Punta Gorda Dock Workers.

In February 1947, after Betson organized a strike of 300 Belize Estate and Produce Company workers, the company capitulated and the sawmill workers won an increase in wages.

Betson’s legacy has strengthened the resolve of unionists in today’s Belize, as he was instrumental in giving workshops on unionism.