On June 29, 2011,
the Management of the Port of Belize under the ownership of the
Luke Espat Group hammered out a Memorandum of Understanding with
the Christian Worker's Union, which represents the stevedores and
other waterfront workers.
They agreed upon
the terms of negotiating a collective bargaining agreement which
would materialize in the very near future.
The MOU
covered several key issues that waterfront workers requested to
enhance their working environment.
It was a major step forward for
the two parties to meet each other in the middle, but now the
Luke Espat Group is gone and the new receiver-appointed
administration doesn't recognize that MOU.
This has delayed the
implementation of changes that the waterfront workers had been
clamouring for, and one stevedore, Raymond Rivers, who was
instrumental in that 2011 agreement, came to speak to us today.
He said that he came to voice
what he calls the collective waterfront workers' frustration
that nothing has changed.
Here's what he told us:
Raymond Rivers - Concerned Stevedore, 3rd Generation
"In these past 8 years under the old Luke privatized regime, we
didn't get any kind of justice with these people. And this is
why I say that privatization does not pay because these people
had so much years of retroactive pay for us. We asked them for
all kinds of things over these years for safety measures, and
they haven't given us any of them. Stevedores who get hurt on
the job on the containers, they go down on pallets or in
vehicles. The truck that they take us up to go work is an oil
truck - what they used to put hydraulic oil and other oils in, and
out of the sugar boats, everyone has already gotten their bonus.
Everybody already got their $3,500, $4,500, but I am asking what
happened to the stevedores?"
Daniel Ortiz
"The Memorandum of Understanding which signed last year, has any
of the agreed concessions that stevedores should get - have they
been given to you guys as yet?"
Raymond
Rivers
"Well, no, and that's because of this receivership thing
that is happening, but the only thing from the 8 years that the
Luke regime was running this is one toilet. The boat that they
take us out on, one of the men who came on the outside ships
asked us, 'How do you all ride on this boat. This boat is a
bomb.' The truck that they take us up in is an oil truck that
they used to haul hydraulic oil. The money, the way how they
send our money to the bank - 3 -4 days after; that's a lot of
hate. Then, it's the same old regime there, Ms. Francine and
others; that's the crew who is still running the port. And I
want Mr. Barrow know that he needs to step in for us because
they said that they saved the sugar industry, but they haven't
saved the stevedores. Stevedore only gets one part of that, and I
always invite people to come out to the sugar ship with us to
spend a night when it's raining. We stand up like pelicans the
whole night."
After the interview with Rivers, we
spoke to Arturo Tux Vasquez, the Receiver appointed CEO of the
Port of Belize, who told us that the agreement from 2011 is not
one that binds his new administration.
He did say that he met with all
the negotiating parties and stakeholders for most of today, and
some of the items agreed upon in the 2011 MOU is under
consideration for a new agreement which may be signed as early
as Friday.
He told us that Rivers has spoken
too soon on this matter because they may be negotiating on some
of the exact same things that the Rivers and other stevedores
are unhappy about. He ended by saying that the Rivers needed to
speak to his union representative because he is behind on his
information.
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