And switching gears, a light at the end of the long battle between the stevedores and the Port of Belize. Last night, an MOU was finalized between the government and CWU in which GOB has agreed to make an ex gratia payment of 1.5 million dollars in compensation for any damages suffered due to the privatization of PBL.
It's a major vindication for the CWU and one battle won in a very big war but the president of the union, Evan "Mose" Hyde said it's just the beginning.
According to him, GOB had offered another dollar figure for the ex gratia payment, but the union countered that. At that time, the strike was ongoing, so in the spirit of reconciliation, the stevedores went back to work.
The negotiations continued and the union widened the scope of the MOU. Here's how Hyde explained it:
Evan "Mose" Hyde, President, CWU
"Besides being offered a financial sum which we have not accept at a mil and a half, one million five hundred thousand, we also asked for the matter of our members who were tear gassed and rubber bulleted who have initiated processes for claims and who have medical certification of injuries that they received that day for there to be a commitment to settle. We also asked for the matter of the legislative loophole with social security board which disadvantages our members from the inception of the scheme and the fund where they pay but because the frequency that they pay, they don't qualify and then they are unable to make direct payments to offset that and so while they have made this average the same amount of payment like someone who is employed regularly, they are not entitled to the same benefits and it had long been a concern and a complaint of our members. We also made requests even though there was a process already initiated by one of our reps who engaged with the Ministry of Natural Resources to look at the availability of land for our members since so many of them don't have any lands. As you can see in the final MOU, that is not in there but it is an accompanying understanding and it's a process that is going to continue."
And while the battle continues, Hyde said that it was a step in the right direction to a more stable relationship and he was glad that GOB acknowledged that, as he put it, privatization was the first sin.
Evan "Mose" Hyde, President, CWU
"I think it's important to look at this and call it what it is, that while I cannot speak for government, I can speak to what we believe it is, that it is reconciliation. It is reconciliation that really doesn't cover what our members have lost. Essentially it is ointment on an amputated leg because when we do the maths, our members have lot out on future earnings, when we put together director earnings and retirement benefits, we're looking near thirty million dollars, that's what they have lost, we're not talking about all the other stress and along the way difficulties that have happened. And when you put what we have here in that context you realize that it's really just trying to at least create a gesture, an acknowledgement that we understand that this has been a very bad journey for you as a result of privatization. I think that we believe that more than anything, why it means something our members, significantly is that that 1.5 million dollars is the people's money, it's not the employer's money, it's not any specific elected officials money, it's the people's money, and so we have tremendous respect for it, and our members have tremendous respect for it, and also acknowledging the fact that they have a part to play, we have a part to play, in trying to find and navigate a more stable road going forward between ourselves and our employers."
We note that the settlement does not prevent future lawsuits - which works in the CWU's favor.
