While the rest of Belize gets ready for Christmas, the stevedores are still waiting for the Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal to move forward. According to the president, they've spent the year hearing promise after promise but up to now, there is still no resolution. And even though the CWU met with the tribunal today, they are no closer to a solution. And that means the stevedores are no closer to a much needed salary increase. President Leonora Flowers told us more.
Leonora Flowers, President, CWU
"The issue fundamentally for us is one of justice and to say even in this festive season, the wheels of justice in Belize for some moves very slow. We're going to one year waiting for the tribunal, the Essential Services Tribunal to act and we still continue to wait. We have not moved anywhere as yet. We're going around in circles, my words. So we're hoping that the panel gets its act together, my words again, as the president of the CWU, we're hoping they the panel gets its act together and don't let us wait another 4 months like we've waited before we've heard from them. They promised something four months ago and we're still waiting for that. The promise in February that we'll have a tribunal, we're still waiting for the real hearing to be heard, we can't get one first move."
Courtney Menzies:
"Anything concrete at all came out of this meeting?"
Leonora Flowers, President, CWU
"Nothing concrete, come back here the 9th, come back here the 23rd of January next year, you'll see us here again. Hopefully on that date, something will move forward."
"It is very difficult because unless we can move from this impasse, there is not going to be a salary adjustment considered. I want the Belizean public to consider the fact that we were told that the government of Belize bought the port. Government bought the port over a year ago, and we still cannot have some coming together of the mind. The stevedores can't complete their CBA to consider a salary adjustment. That's unconscionable."
"We're not even asking for a bonus. They got the bonus they normally get but the stevedores wanted a party, CWU cannot afford a party for them, the port did not have a party, we're not even asking for a party. We're asking for what is due to them, consideration of a salary adjustment and we can only do that if this impasse, while we can to the ESAT, if this isn't resolved, we cannot move forward, that's all we're asking."
Flowers said that the possibility of industrial action is not off the table.
