On Monday you heard from the stevedores saying that while they're interested in the nationalization of the Port, they won't be impressed until they receive the money owed to them from the ruling of the Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal. That's for loss of the BSI sugar shipping contract when they say they were made redundant.
Today, the PM said it's the interim board and the new CEO who will go in and work out all of those kinks. That new CEO is also the former CEO: Arturo Tux Vasquez.
We asked PM Briceno whether he feels he should have consulted the social partners before appointing the board, and if he thinks the stevedores will accept Vasquez as CEO.
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"That is again, we have appointed a new board, an interim board, and I met with the chairman yesterday, the interim chairman, Dr Gilly Canton, somebody that's well known and very respectable person along with Mr Tux Vasquez who is the interim CEO, we chose Mr Vasquez simply because he was there for several years, we need someone who knows what's going on."
Reporter:
"You meant Canton?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"No, Canton for chairman, interim chairman, and Mr Vasquez as interim CEO."
Reporter:
"This is Tux Vasquez whose been there under the receivership linked to Michael Ashcroft."
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"He's not linked to Michael Ashcroft, he's linked to the government of Belize. He is working for the government of Belize, going in there, he already knows- we don't have to go through that learning curve and so the idea is that they are going to be addressing all of these issues."
Courtney Menzies:
"What would you say to the criticism of the social partners and also of course the Leader of the Opposition, that you guys did this deal in the dark, you appointed the interim board - though it is interim - you didn't consult with the social partners ahead of appointing the board."
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I don't think it's a matter of consulting with social partners, I think it's a matter of, here we came trying to find a solution to a never ending problem and what we have done, we tried to get different people who can represent different sectors, for instance I know there's an issue, some of them, the unions are trying to make an issue with Senator Elena Smith but Senator Elena Smith is not representing the union, she's representing labor, a person who understands labor and that is why we came across, I think a good cross section that can go in there and look at what is there and try to come up with a plan to move it forward."
Reporter:
"Now that you're confirming the name for CEO of Mr Tux Vasquez, do you expect that there will be pushback from the stevedores, as a matter of fact I heard that once the name is confirmed, there's going to be a shut down of the waterfront."
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well I don't think that's for the stevedores to decide, the stevedores are employees of the port, that is a decision that we make and Mr Vasquez has told me he has always had a good working relationship with the stevedores, that is one of the reasons why he was removed when he was the CEO but let's not speculate, we can be back and forth, the position is that the government has decided that this is the person that can come in and help us."
