And while the CWU was concerned with the government entangling itself with the Ashcroft Alliance once again, the parliamentarians in the Senate weren't opposed to the bill per se. Rather, they were opposed to the way the negotiations were handled. Like the UDP representatives pointed out last Thursday, it was a deal done in the dark, and the senators called for a more transparent process moving forward. UDP senator, Tony Herrera, criticized the final amount the GOB will be spending simply to acquire the port, adding that much more will need to be put into it to modernize it. And the labor senator, Luke Martinez, questioned how the Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal ruling would be handled following the acquisition.
Tony Herrera, UDP Senator
"What is bitter about it is the amount that we are giving up. $200,000,000 for that port, I am there, I see the list of assets that you guys provided, Jesus Christ."
"When you go to the port, I am there everyday. The loaders, how much money, more will be put into this port, apart from what we are putting in already. Talking about the stevedores, they risk their lives everyday. Brother Luke, you have to fight for that OSH bill because safety is not a priority there."
"The port itself, the building, it's collapsing, the shelves, you talk about the road inside, we're not talking about the outside yet, we're talking about the inside. And I can see what we want, we want that to be nationalized but man, Madam President, $200,000,000 when we bought this port for, what? 38? $38,000,000 I think that port was pawned for, 38 and went into receivership. But it makes me wonder, how come we end up with 83, just flip it right, just turn it around and it's 83. I don't know, I'm curious to how you guys reached to that figure."
Luke Martinez, Union Senator
"We have been advocating for this for a long time and so we could tick this off as an achievement."
"The ESAT had ruled and based on the regulations, the regulations state that the ruling of the ESAT is final. Again, the ministry and the minister responsible for that ministry remained quiet, as a matter of fact when the minister finally broke his silence, he said that we have to go to the high courts to get that problem resolved."
"The chair and his committee had already made a decision before this agreement came to us but for some reason, he held back his judgement. Last week, the stevedores received that judgement to say that he's throwing out the case, he has struck out that case, which means now then that even though there was a ruling in favor of the stevedores, there was no remedy for that ruling. Senator Courtenay when you respond to us I'm sure you'll be able to give us some guidance there because at the end of the day, what will happen? Will government take government to court to get that concern addressed? How are we going to enforce a ruling that should have been final?"
"But we can't only speak about the labor relations without we speak about the very important fact that everyday workers who go to the port, the minute they step on that ground, they're exposed to some serious threats to their health and safety. Occupational, safety, and health, leader of the government business, must be a priority, it must be a priority."
And in the middle of the meeting, the press release was issued naming the members of the interim board, including, as we told you earlier, Senator Elena Smith. Both Senator Martinez and Senator Elma Kay stood up to voice their concern about a lack of consultation with the social partners.
Luke Martinez, Union Senator
"Madam president, I saw a press release while we were deliberating over some of the bills just before we reached this one. There is a board, and the government is naming a representative, how they name it, former president of the BNTU, I think she's supposed to represent labor, that doesn't work so."
"The government has a responsibility to reach out to the social partners as they normally do, request for us to submit, nominate a person, and we would respond as we normally do, as a part of our social dialogue commitment so we want to ensure from the onset when we're stepping, that we're stepping properly, especially as it relates to the industrial relations. You don't put a board together and say this person will represent you."
Dr Elma Kay, NGO Senator
"What Senator Luke just mentioned is very disappointing to hear about this press release that just went out basically including someone from the social partners as a member of the board without consultation. It does feel often that we as the social partners are treated as, when it's convenient we consult, and when it's not convenient, we don't consult. And I think it's important that we learn from those lessons because we are here and we want to support good things that the government is prepared to do. The social partners add that balance and bring that objectivity to try and make sure we support the good things and we call out when things are not being done well."
"When this bill came to light, I think for most of the people of Belize, it felt like it just dropped from the sky, and we understand that there are sensitive issues relating to negotiations and as Senator Courtenay said, the government has to act decisively so we understand these issues but again, why wait until the consultations, they very last minute, at least give somebody a heads up that this is what is taking place."
"I felt like there should be a national discussion to assure that this newly acquired asset really becomes and truly becomes the people's port, so that is our request of the government."
