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CWU To Labor Tribunal:Justice Delayed Is Just Denied
posted (April 12, 2024)
Back in July 2020, 35 employees at the Port of Belize Limited were unjustly terminated. Four years later, these former employees, who suddenly lost their livelihood, have still not been given any justice.

At the time of the termination, there had been nobody in place to assist. But since then, there has been the establishment of a Labor Complaints Tribunal. However, even with the tribunal, the case is still stalled. Today the CWU president held a press briefing to remind the tribunal that justice delayed is justice denied, and along with her was one of the former employees - a single mother of four - who read part of her testimony that she sent to the tribunal a year ago.

Leonora Flowers, President, CWU
"After that tribunal was set up, we were able to submit our submissions to them on behalf of our members. We did some submissions, written submissions and testimonials as they were required in October, November of last year, 2023."

"Even three years after the terminations, PBL and CWU continued many meetings in between other issues. We have recently completed, to a point, the issue of the stevedores and that kind of settled."

"So now we have to move on to the fact that the tribunal has still not looked at what is outstanding in front of them. We continue to ask. We have written to the minister, we have written to the ministry, we have gotten a response from the labor commissioner recently, like two weeks ago, and only to have the meeting that was supposed to be held yesterday was put off to a further date."

"We want to say to the tribunal and the people who have been in panel to serve on that tribunal, these are Belizean workers that we're dealing with. And just like the legislation affords us a right to represent them, the legislation has afforded them a responsibility when they took on that task to be a part of the panel to provide a response not four years later or not three years later than when it occurred."

"It is way, way beyond time and we still await."

Leticia Gibson, PBL 35
"My lowest point after redundancy was on Christmas Day, 2021. I dropped bitter tears because I couldn't even provide Christmas dinner for my kids. I broke down in front of them. I felt useless, depressed, and worthless. I had to swallow my pride and begged my relatives for dinner. I had never felt nor sunk so low before. I decided that I will shed no more tears over the injustice that PBL had done to me."

"I decided that I will fight no matter what may come. If I was such a bad employee, how come I got employee of the quarterly for 2019? How come on my last week, my supervisor praised my work and even said that he will make sure I got my increment that year?"

"What PBL did not just affected my well-being, but also the well-being of my children, the effects that we are still feeling. up to this day."

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