The Christian Workers Union held a press conference today and started by announcing good news: after years of struggle with the Port of Belize-spanning the terms of multiple union presidents-they have finally reached an agreement on a Collective Bargaining Agreement. That agreement has now been sent to the Labour Department, and the CWU expects the matter to conclude shortly. Union President Leonora Flowers attributes part of this breakthrough to a change in PBL's administration.
Leonora Flowers, President, CWU
"You all know that we have had a terrible time with the Port of Belize over the last three or four presidents of CWU. Well, today I can report that we have sent the stevedores CBA to the Labour Department for their review, so that means we have come to an agreement-a workable agreement for and on behalf of our stevedores members. And pretty soon we will be forwarding... just, I think, about two more conditions remain to conclude for the staff at the Port of Belize, the staff inside. This afternoon we'll be having another meeting, and hopefully in that meeting we will be concluding. So the Labor Commissioner hopefully will soon get that as well."
"The change in leadership has played a very big role for the stevedore members. There was actually an offer of increase in their rates and an increase in the containers. And the stevedores were able to come to an agreement with that. There was a compromise, it was acceptable, and they said yes. That's what moved that ahead. And very quickly."
"As long as the leadership and the single chair-as long as they continue to listen to us, dialogue with us, liaise with us, sit around the table, and have the social dialogue-we will have a good relation because we'll be able to say to them when our members are unhappy, and they'll be able to do something about it."
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