And switching subject now, form crime to the economy...
Last week, we told you about the latest breakdown in industrial relations between the stevedores and the management of the Port of Belize.
As viewers are aware, these two parties have a long history of contention, but the latest complaint from the stevedores is about the Port's refusal of 2 candidates which their bargaining agent, the Christian Workers Union, suggested to fill posts for the general foreman.
For the stevedores, it's simply the last straw that has stirred up their simmering feelings of discontent with the Port. For months their bigger concern has been their claim for 4.5 million dollars in compensation for the sugar ships that went South to the Port of Big Creek late last year. So, the stevedores used that springboard to launch into industrial action, and since shipping for the country is an essential service, stakeholders are complaining that they didn't follow the very important rules for dispute resolution.
The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry is already warning the general public that this standoff at the port could have dire financial consequences for the country's economy. Basically, without any shipping, imports and exports of goods and services cannot take place. That will eventually mean a shortage of goods in the markets, a loss of earnings for perishable products stuck in containers, a loss of productivity for the companies that depend on their cargo, and financial penalties for exporters whose goods will arrive late - if at all - to their customers.
The Chamber notes that this stand-off cannot be protracted because all forms of productivity will be negatively impacted. At midday today, we got a chance to speak with the vice president of the Customs Brokers Association of Belize. Via Zoom, he told us that since there has been no productivity at the Port of Belize for several days, there's currently a backlog of some 500 containers that are not being off-loaded:
Delroy Fairweather - VP, Customs Brokers Association of Belize
"I think there's a fear that this might very well be longer than in previous times. And what it has done, basically, is it has created a situation of chaos now. You have all of these vessels in Cue to come in to offload and apparently, there is no room in sight. There won't be any in this situation or anything to resolve this problem, now. I think what they are calling on [is] the union. They're holding their ground, and the Port is also holding their ground. So, that leaves the importers and the consumers know in the middle, all right. So basically what I'm thinking is that some alternative situation will have to work out in regards to getting cargo into Belize, as it regards ocean freight. As you know, each container has a specific value. One of the losses, per se, that you could look at would be on the ocean freight end because remember, these vessels are coming into the country with containers to be offloaded. these containers for lack of a better word, won't be offloaded here in Belize City. If they make the next arrangement, it will then - I'm hearing that they're planning on going down to the Big Creek Port. That in itself comes with its own challenges because then that means the revenue will be shifted from one port to the next. You also have to factor in the transportation costs and in terms of numbers of containers, I am thinking we are maybe around - on the importing end - just around maybe 500 containers you're looking at. Of course, I had heard that there was a vessel scheduled to come into port just to pick up empty containers, which was probably around 300 or so containers, which would have been some with exports. Wherever the cargo needs to go, they will make arrangements, and I can tell you that at the end of the day, it will be trickled. The cost will be a trickle down to the consumer at the end of the year. Because of that costs, additional costs will be added to the already high cost of goods in the country."
