body,td,th { font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; }
Tonight the standoff continues between stevedores and the Port of Belize - and the consequence is that a container ship that's been waiting for two days to clear - is still there, full of cargo. And everyday it stays the costs go up for importers and consumers - and the losses mount for stevedores and the Port of Belize.
Not surprisingly, tonight both sides are blaming the other. Cherisse Halsall starts with the stevedores who say they have been locked out:
The Aries that you see docked here at the Pierhead - arrived in Belize's waters yesterday morning, bringing essential cargo in 174 containers that merchants and importers are waiting to clear. But, today, as yesterday, the cranes that stevedores usually operate stood motionless; the cargo isn't being unloaded - in a costly standoff between the Port and the stevedores.
Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"BEC is the, that is the mother load, that's the one that brings the golden egg to our brothers, that is the one they look forward to, that is the one they love because my brothers love money, they love working for money, they don't want to thief money, they want to work hard for money."
According to CWU president Mose Hyde, the Port Of Belize has, yet again, locked Stevedores out.
Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"What has happened is that PBL has locked out our gangs from doing their work according to the contract that we have with them. Our gang, gang 5 has been stationed outside of Port ready to do work from yesterday morning. They were there last night, they were there and are probably still there this morning ready to do the work of unloading the ship that is in port,
the PBL has refused them and in our view it is an illegal refusal it's illegal it compromises it breeches our contract and it breeches the essential services act and in our view why we have now decided to come public is that we are at a loss as to how come we have not had any intervention of any sort from the Ministry of Labour and the government of Belize. We have been categorized as an essential service. In times past when it is Stevedores who are responsible for the shutdown of business at the waterfront, everybody, all hands on deck we are being bombarded with calls about what are we doing, we are interrupting the flow of business services, commodities, etc, etc, etc, the people. The Ministry of labour and the government of Belize are aware of every detail of this contention."
"From the time it started, they know everything, and they have seen the exchange of the correspondences, but they have yet to weigh in and so what has happened is that not only our members are being deprived of their rightful legal opportunity to earn a living and the nation of Belize being deprived of the flow of goods but what is happening is that we are being deprived of any sort of intervention coming from the state that is usually present whenever we have any type of disturbance down, it is as if though the referee has left the game."
The CWU says it is sticking to the letter of their current collective bargaining agreement - after extending a goodwill gesture to the shipping agents:
Jules Vasquez:
"So, the issue is one gang, one ship? That is in the CBA?"
Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"One gang, one ship they say we have to stop at 15 hours, take 9 hour rests and come back and finish it as they decided they were willing to. Agree."
Jules Vasquez:
"Then you all? Because that proved thoroughly impractical, you all agree an undertaking, two gang, one ship, speed things along?"
Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"I am glad you asked the question, because that brings us to an important thing. We had completely abandoned any negotiations on this matter with PBL because, as we were advised when you are being litigated you don't negotiate but we decided in the interest of our members, in the interest of the client we had discussions directly with the client, PBL was not even present."
Jules Vasquez:
"You mean the shipping agents?"
Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"What PBL got was a hand wrapped ribbon place on their desk goodwill, we and the shipping agents have worked out a verbal thing make we try a thing. So, what they did PBL was to take that gift and decided that you know what this now becomes an obligation, this becomes mandatory and I will make it mandatory because I have the money to make it mandatory."
"Now, if you are asking me about the decision to take back an Olive branch, an olive branch that was offered 10 months ago that was responded to with absolute scorn, disrespect and indifference and they were aware, the Ministry of labour was aware that our members have not taken that indifference and taken that you would say lack of attention just like that.We told them our members are looking at this and feel absolutely insulted. They have acted with good faith though we maintained we will not sign because previous history teaches us that until everything is good you don't put any signature on any paper with these people."
And, that's a hard-won lesson that this president and his membership have learned even after rulings had been made by an essential services tribunal:
Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"The genesis of this shutdown is management and what appears now to be an ownership, receivership/ownership, everything that they want to be at any given point in time has decided that they will not allow our gangs to work because they are unhappy with a decision, a legal decision, a constitutional right that they have to make a decision that is within the confines of the signed agreement that we have with port of Belize, signed onto by the Ministry of labour, they have a copy of our contract and they were a signee to that contract and they were a neutral observer to the negotiations that led to the contract, the Ministry of labour is completely in the light of every aspect of this situation and yet they remain silent, yet they remain on the sidelines in fact I don't know if there is anybody there."
And so until such time that G.O.B chooses to act the Stevedores face two choices, lie down and play dead for the port, or fight till the end, even as they say PBL is trying to crack their union.
Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"So, this is not about whether or not two gang is more practical, more efficient that one gang it is whether or not they will allow themselves to become slaves to someone that doesn't want to give them the fundamental respect of honoring what it is the tribunal has ruled, only an Ashcroft affiliated company can completely ignore what the essential services tribunal ruled. If the shoe was on the other foot Jules, you think that our members would have been allowed to ignore the essential services tribunal rule?, cho man, they would have hauled us out long time."
