Tonight, the paralysis is over at the Port of Belize and the stevedores are back to work.
It's a temporary compromise while they wait to meet with the Prime Minister on Monday. But, it was not a compromise easily arrived at. In fact it started out with a day of tension when the stevedores feared that they would have to go head to head with law enforcement. The report was that the government would send BDF to take over the operations at the pierhead to get the country's sovereign port back in operational mode.
Thankfully that did not happen and there was no violent showdown. I was out there all morning and here's what we learned:
This morning at 7:00 stevedores showed up at the Port of Belize but they did not go to the pierhead - leaving the port immobilized - and - for what its worth - a bike chained unto the gate to block it.
The atmosphere were tense as police guarded the port gate, and police paramilitary teams were on the ready inside the port compound - though hidden from view.
But, the stevedores held their ground, waiting for some indication from the government of Belize that their redundancy demands would be taken seriously.
They managed to get on a call with the deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde to see where the government stands. We asked him what it is that he relayed to the stevedores during that call.
Cordel Hyde, Area Representative Lake Independence
"Well I tried to say to them that the government did not acquire the port to continue fighting with the Stevedores. There is new ownership and the government is the people of Belize. The ownership of the port is the people of Belize. And I think both sides have to, the ownership/the management have to / the stevedores have to have the appreciation and understanding that there has to be some level of compromise, and some level of give-and-take along the way. I think sometimes the management forgets that they have new owners in town. That is the people of Belize who owns this thing. Sometimes I think that the Stevedores forget that there is new ownership in town. That is not the nefarious character. And it's the people who actually own this thing so sacrifices will have to be made. The Prime Minister has committed to meet with them on Monday. I am a hopeful fella. I feel like you can sit and talk through things and find a way to solve problems. If you have the right tone and the right attitude and you are willing to sit and talk through things, I am hopeful that we can have some good things coming out on Monday."
Jules Vasquez
"But we can't wait until then. The sovereign port is immobilized."
Cordel Hyde, Area Representative Lake Independence
"But it shouldn't be, and that's the challenge."
And a challenge it will be indeed to get all heads to see eye to eye. The CWU president met with the CEO of the port of Belize this morning and other heads to discuss what today's proceedings will look like for the union. Here's what she told us about that meeting.
Leonora Flowers, CWU President
"They were trying to convince probably coarse the member of the gang, the current gang that should be out at the pierhead to work the ship in good faith. Coming from them, they should know that the good faith run out a long time ago.. the good faith ran out a long time ago. This is our action now. We need the government to step forward and say this is what is on the table. Let's start a fresh, put it on the table so we can bring this to a closure."
"At the moment we have a promise to meet on Monday from the Prime Minister I would say from the government to the government that is not good enough. That is not good enough. Yesterday was Monday to tell us that they will meet with us on Monday. The Prime Minister has absolutely no time it's not good enough. Our members have taken a stand and continue to do so."
"I am trying to find a nice and decent word for it. It's out of order for them to say on Monday. Come on, they don't mean business, they don't mean business."
Reporter
"Do you think they will budge on the number of persons that want in a gang?"
Leonora Flowers, CWU President
"I guess it's us to budge, not them."
And as for the CEO's side of things, he believes that what the Stevedores are doing is in fact a strike
Arturo Vasquez, CEO Port of Belize
"I will not go much into the negotiations I will just say that as far as the negotiations are concerned the CWU has officially in black and white refused the proposal that was provided by the Port of Belize. And I believe that now their issues is trying to get through to the government in the offer that the government has made in which I have no say in. That's it for the negotiations. Since Friday we have been having this problem where no boats are being worked on we have been trying to solve this problem with the CWU we have written them emails on Friday and Saturday and yesterday and we have never had a response to it. The email is basically asking the CWU to tell us what their position is as to whether it is a position by the CW or if it's a position by the current gang. We never got a response, so we are still waiting for a response. And we really don't know what the situation is I have to refer to the media and the interviews that they are doing where they are basically saying that the CW has not really ordered a strike clearly they have not. They are basically saying that it is a disgruntled union members and Stevedores that are actually not prepared to work at the pierhead. Now I'm sure that we all understand that there is a procedure for striking so we have two obviously believe that this is an unlawful strike. You come to work and you don't work clearly after three ships. It has to be identified as a strike."
Shortly before midday Port Commissioner, Darlin Gaitan also made her way to the port to meet with Vasquez. This may indicate that they have begun to move towards a contingency plan for the port. Vasquez told us what that plan entails.
Arturo Vasquez, CEO Port of Belize
"The contingency plan in these cases are that at some point the port authority has to step in the port authority has to take control of the port and once they do that then clearly, the state takes control, and anything can happen, but at some point we have to decide how we will go about floating the ship, but there is a process to that. There is also a process to the vessel the vessel also has a right. The vessel may decide that they don't want to be a part of something that may look confrontation and they can also decide to sail. So that also has to be today. So, as we progress, we have to give vessel and agents an opportunity to decide whether they want to stay or not, so that's where we are right now."
And to add to the list of people who made an appearance at the port this morning, the commissioner of police has also dipped his hand into the fire. His concern is about keeping the peace while tensions are on the rise between both sides.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"The police are just here to ensure that law and order is maintained. We do not ascribe to confrontational style of policing, but we do understand that the port has a responsibility to the Belizean people and people are depending for their cargo to come out of the port. We hope that cooler heads are going to prevail, and the matter is going to be resolved very quickly, so there is no need for the confrontation between the police and the Stevedores."
