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Guy Neal, Negotiating Team, CWU
"The issue is that we had a thing signed with the CEO of Port Mr. Arturo Vasquez and we got everything signed up and all of a sudden when we had the meeting on the 3rd, he backtracked and its the retirement for me and for all the stevedores who went and who is presently working. And if we let that go like that, there will be nothing in our pockets at the end of the day. So we are working for nothing basically. We are doing this dangerous work and it's a work that we have to do in any kind of weather basically; rain, wind or whatever."

Courtney Weatherburne
"It seemed like it was a level playing field and everyone was on board. So what the issue now? Why did he retract? What is he saying to you all?"

Guy Neal, Negotiating Team, CWU
"We have no idea. Basically it was going in the right direction. But to backtrack on something that you signed for including myself - we just can't live with that. So it's just paper every time and look how long they have control of us - from the 12 December 2004 and we cannot get a CBA - collective bargaining agreement signed."

Courtney Weatherburne
"I know that is of course the main issue, having that CBA signed."

Guy Neal, Negotiating Team, CWU
"We are demanding that he goes back to what he says. That's what we are demanding. And then we move on again from there and hopefully we don't have any more obstacles. But we can't move."

When we spoke with PORT CEO Arturo Vasquez, he said he didn't retract anything he had previously said regarding the retirement or pension plan. Vasquez said it's a huge and very costly misunderstanding.

Courtney Weatherburne
"The last time we covered this story we were in this office again, but on a more positive note. You all were optimistic about the negotiations. You were very optimistic about the negotiations and going forward in terms of looking at the memorandum of understanding, looking at trying to finalize the CBA. But we are here today, a group of stevedores they stage a strike. Operations pretty much shut down here at the Port. Could you comment? Tell us about how this affects greatly the operations here at the Port?"

Arturo "Tux" Vasquez, CEO, Port of Belize
"Unfortunately we are here in a situation where I as the head of the board are unable to tell you really the real reason why the union has called a strike. First of all I don't know whether it's an official strike by the union or if it's a strike only by the stevedores or this gang that is work this shift. We have been having our negotiations as schedule. The last one we had was on the 3rd and in that negotiations they left with some information that I would have expected that they would have come back to say whether it was in favor or not. Now I was surprised at 11:00AM this morning I got to understand that this gang in on strike. Now I have to assume what the reasons are. But I should not be assuming when we are in the middle of the negotiations. I would have expected the union to come back to me. Because we are negotiating as I said as schedule. If they come back and they could have said to us we took the information back, we are not in agreement, let's continue to negotiate. I have to say now that we are held hostage."

Courtney Weatherburne
"He said that you all signed on to documents and some recommendations were made and that now you have retracted certain statements that you have made specifically looking at retirement and I believe pension. But their main thing was the retirement plan that you simply said in the meeting the 3rd, that oh okay, I just said that to appease the stevedores and it's not going to happen. So they're infuriated because they are saying that you went back on something or agreement that you all signed on to and promise. Could you comment on that?"

Arturo "Tux" Vasquez, CEO, Port of Belize
"First of all we agreed in our negotiating framework that we will not disclose the information that we are dealing with. So I cannot go into the details. But all I will say is that there is nothing that I have said to them that I have now taken back. Perhaps they did not understand. But it is very simple that what we had agreed on, we had agreed on an increase pension moving forward. They are claiming that I have said that it would been something retroactive back to 2004. Now, financially the Port is unable to handle such a cost. So it is something that I would not have been able to agree to. But agree for it going forward. I am assuming at this point that that is the situation. As I said the union as a negotiating team has not been back to me after the 3rd to say to me what was taken to their stevedores and what was agreed or disagreed with."

Vasquez also told us that this strike has MAJOR implications on the overall operations at the Port. He forwarded us an email that was sent to the Port from Caribbean Shipping, warning, quote: "if the strike is not resolved by 6:00 this evening Belize local time, the Caribe Navigator will sail (with the Belize cargo on board)." This seriously affects the merchants who are waiting for their cargo, customs which I waiting for revenue, and disrupts the entire shipment schedule. But when we spoke to CWU president Audrey Matura Sheppard on her way to meet with CEO Vasquez this evening, she said that's not her fault nor her duty to manage the affairs of the Port and that the stevedores are simply tired of being pushed around.

Audrey Matura - Shepard, President - CWU
"What happens, we've been in negotiation with the Port and I think its negotiation in good faith and unfortunately we had reached an agreement over their retire/pension scheme. It was clear that the issue would have been retroactive since 2004. We moved on and when we were discussing other issues Mr. Tux who chairs the negotiating team for the Port then threw in - like the guys were asking so when will the retroactive money for those have not been paid and he then indicated like this thing is not really - they won't get anything and what he explained was that those who have gone will not be getting anything - which we were taken aback, because it was always to be retroactive to everybody. So I said to him, we won't address it then, I'll go back and we will come and we will talk. We spoke to him about it and then it got worse than we realize. He is saying that it's not even retroactive to those who are here - the 4% that we agreed on."

"Now it is a sad situation. I won't go into details, but what it has shown to us is that we are negotiating with people you can't trust. So we have to record everything in detail. We came here in good faith and what we realize that that day the Port would have said anything just to get those guys back to work."

Courtney Weatherburne
"We spoke to him just now and he is saying, 1) that it's basically a misunderstanding of what the agreement was, because he is saying that it wasn't retroactive and that the Port can't even afford that - being in receivership and, 2) that this was a hostile approach that you all were in negotiations. It was going pretty fine. The last time we reported on this story both sides were optimistic or well at least his side. But he is saying that he did not retract anything that was said in the meeting and that it just had to be some misunderstanding in terms of what was agreed on."

Audrey Matura - Shepard, President - CWU
"There is absolutely no way. You all make sense out of nonsense. Absolutely no way those stevedores would have agreed to anything that wasn't retroactive. You've waited for 11 years to try and resolve and issue and then you said oh, forget those 11 years and we will start from this point forward, for one of the most critical benefit, your pension. Come on. Let's make sense out of nonsense. What this has really proven is that when their back is against the wall he will say anything and you have to now read the fine print when it comes to management."

So, again both parties differ on what was agreed in terms of the retirement or pension plan for the stevedores and that will now further stall negotiations on the CBA. Vasquez told us that in order to move forward the stevedores must go back to work, even if it's a go slow - but operations must continue. In regards to the cargo bound for Belize, well…that ship has sailed. Vasquez confirmed to us a while ago that it has departed with all the Belize cargo on it. Vasquez told us this makes history because since he has been at the Port he hasn't received any letter or warning like the one he got from Caribbean Shipping, and apart from that NO vessel has ever been sent back without delivering its cargo. When we left the Port of Belize after 6 this evening Shepherd along with the stevedores and CEO Vasquez were meeting. We will follow up to see what came out of that meeting.