7 News Belize

Port Operations Remain At Standstill
posted (December 8, 2015)
Operations at the Port of Belize remain at a standstill as the standoff continues between the Port Management and the Christian Workers Union. As we told you last night, the stevedores went on strike yesterday - shutting down all operations at the port. The stevedores claim that Port CEO Arturo Vasquez retracted what he had promised concerning their retirement and pension plan. According to the stevedores, the agreement was for a retroactive payment going back to 2004 but Vasquez says that wasn't what was agreed, and that the Port simply can't afford that. Today Vasquez told us what came out of their late evening meeting yesterday and what action he has taken going forward.

Arturo "Tux" Vasquez, CEO, Port of Belize
"There were separate meetings. I think when we had the first interview we had already met with the Christian Workers Union where we had tried every effort to get them back to work so we can continue with the ongoing negotiations. That was not successful and then as a result we had already advised the Labour Commissioner and the Port Commissioner and also the Police Commissioner as to the situation. So really what we had later on yesterday was a meeting with the Labour Commissioner and the Port Commissioner and the police. As you know the ship has sailed as they said. There were some discussions as to whether the ship was going to return, as to whether the police would have taken it on an illegal action, but the shipping agent had decided that it had gone. So that was it. They were not prepared to turn back. But I believe that in the future, there is quite a possibility that there has to be an alternative as to what would happen when we have a situation like this. That is something that the Port Commissioner has agreed that they need to look into and to establish some sort of alternative to when you have a situation like this. The port has since written to the Labour Commissioner asking for intervention for them to see how they could resolve that situation. The situation we find ourselves in is that we are in the middle of a negotiation, good negotiation I must say and it seems to us despite the fact that in all our discussions and in all our documentation that we have signed between the Christian Workers Union and the Port of Belize is that we will try to make every effort for strikes to be minimal. Why? Because strike does not help the negotiating process. It does not. There is absolutely no way that we can be expected to continue proper negotiation if in fact we are being held at ransom so to speak - as hostages so to speak. That's something that we have discusses in many meetings, for us to make sure that we try to keep the strike as a minimum. Obviously, there is a discrepancy in what we have negotiated. That is obvious. So that requires further discussions, further negotiations. But you cannot have further negotiations if you have a gun to my head. So that is just not possible. It is not."

Now apart from this strike stalling negotiations - it also gravely affects the business operations at the port. Last night at around 6:19 a ship sailed without delivering its cargo because the stevedores refused to work. Vasquez says it's the first time something like this has happened since he has been at the Port. Now the Port must look at a backup plan to try and deal with situations such as these.

Arturo "Tux" Vasquez, CEO, Port of Belize
"What happened yesterday bring something else to light. The fact that there is a significant business effect when it comes to this for a ship to move off with cargo. I am still not clear as to really what all the effects of that will be. Granted the cargo will return I am assuming. But still there could be loss of business, there could be loss of several things with it and I believe at this point the port will proceed in trying to do a quantum as to what the loss is in what happened yesterday. We have to do that and we must provide that to the Port Authority."

Courtney Weatherburne
"Looking at the issue at hand concerning the retirement and pension plan, we also ask her about that and she is saying the complete opposite, that there is no way that the stevedores would have signed on to anything if it wasn't retroactive and that's pretty much the issue and I asked her, I guess it's as you said a blatant misunderstanding of the agreement."

Arturo "Tux" Vasquez, CEO, Port of Belize
"I am glad that you asked that question, because I heard her saying it as well and I would think that people who are not familiar with the negotiations would think that there is nothing being paid right now. The public needs to know that there is a pension being paid. What we have negotiated is an increase to that pension. So anybody who retires right now is getting a pension. The port is paying a pension. What has been negotiated since was to see if we could increase it. What was also negotiated, in any pension agreement as you know, pension has contributions by both employee and employer. That was also discuss and that was also agreed. So they are going from a 3% which they are getting now to a 6%. Which means that we are doing 4% and they are now contributing 2%. As you know pension is something that builds over years. So what she said yesterday would really would sound - I think she said making sense out of nonsense I think. But it has be cleared that there is a pension currently in place. What we negotiated is an increase to that pension. So, I am glad you asked that question."

Another ship is coming in later this week and Vasquez is urging the stevedores to return to work and to the negotiating table so what happens last night does not happen again. The Belize Chamber of Commerce is also pleading for operations to resume at the Port. They sent out a press release saying "This ill-advised strike action has costly consequences for the entire economy in terms of lost sales, lost government revenue, and lost income, particularly during the Christmas season and thus should not be treated trivially." It ends off by saying "the BCCI urges the negotiating parties to return to the bargaining table and simultaneously resume operations in order that economic activity may continue. We contacted CWU president Audrey - Matura Shepherd today for comment and she said via text concerning Vasquez, quote: "I will listen to what he says. We at CWU know that in good faith we have negotiated and agreed in principle to a pension plan which clearly carried no weight as Port is showing their word is not their bond."

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