Yesterday, the Christian Workers Union and the Port of Belize finally met with the Ministry of Labour as mediator. While the Ministry of Labor is acting as sort of a mediator, the government is approaching the potentially volatile situation carefully.
But, regarding the enforcement of the judgement from the Essential Services Tribunal, government does seem to have come up with a line that they're all taking. And that is, if the CWU wants enforcement, don't look to GOB, they have to go to court.
The Minister of Logistics - who has the responsibility for Belize's ports - told us yesterday that they are merely observing the process, and underscored again that he believes the matter of enforcement should be left to the courts.
Michel Chebat, Minister of Logistics & E-Governance
"We are looking at it from a distance, right now, I believe today as a matter of fact, the parties are engaged in discussions and I know that the labor commissioner is also involved as a mediator at this point, just trying to bring the parties to some type of understanding. But it is a major concern for us, Port of Belize is our biggest commercial port and so whatever happens there affects the entire community, the entire country, and so we're looking at it very closely."
"That's really a conflict between two private parties and I think to the extent that the labor commissioner could try to mediate I think would be helpful but I think in term of enforcement of the ruling of the Tribunal, I would think that the best place would be to go back to the courts to enforce that decision of the Tribunal."
Again we note that that interview was done yesterday.
And today, the NTUCB issued a press release in which they expressed solidarity with the CWU. They state, quote, "We are deeply concerned about the situation between the Christian Workers Union and Port of Belize Limited, which has led to a serious socio-economic crisis that is affecting both people and capital. We believe that this situation could have been avoided if the Briceno Administration had ensured that good faith and the rule of law were respected by PBL." End quote.
They also emphasize the agreement that was entered into on March 6th, in which it states, quote, "A redundancy package for the Stevedores who have been involved in loading and unloading raw sugar will be negotiated and implemented to come into effect... In this regard, within Twenty-one days, a Memorandum of Understanding between PBL and CWU on the redundancy package of Stevedores will be signed; Within Sixty (60) days, a fleshed-out agreement on the redundancy package will be signed by PBL and CWU." End quote.
They also refer specifically to the language of the Essential Services Tribunal, saying, quote, "THE TRIBUNAL DIRECTS THAT BOTH THE CHRISTIAN WORKERS UNION AND THE PORT OF BELIZE LIMITED FORTHWITH ENGAGE IN NEGOTIATIONS TO DETERMINE THE TERMS OF PAYMENT OF THE REDUNDANCY PACKAGE; "
They also stress that "THE DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL…SHALL BE FINAL."
But as we reported, it's been over a year since the agreement was signed and there is still no redundancy package. The NTUCB is now calling on the Labor Department to, quote, "make immediate and meaningful interventions and ensure that the rule of law prevails." End quote.
Email
Print