Will Mayor Wagner’s Failure to Agree on C.B.A. with C.W.U. Impact his Re-Election

Bernard Wagner

Another matter that is following Mayor Bernard Wagner into the 2021 Municipal Elections is the matter of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Christian Workers Union. As you will recall, for the past couple of weeks, we have been reporting on the strained relations between the C.W.U. and Belize City Council. The C.W.U. has been asking the Belize City Council to go to the table for negotiations on the C.B.A. before the Municipal Elections – well, that is not going to happen, according to Mayor Bernard Wagner. So, will that refusal to negotiate on that C.B.A. affect the mayor’s chances going into the municipals? That’s what we asked him today.

Andrea Polanco

“Mayor, do you think the failure to sign that C.B.A. with the C.W.U. is going to hurt your chances going into the municipal elections?”

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“Again, the C.W.U. matter is a principle matter and we stick by that principle that we are not going to sign any contracts; any agreements; make no proposals to tie and bind the hand of a future council or a future mayor and we stick by that. And so, whatever comes, whatever comes but that is our principle and you can’t beat us down for standing by that principle. That is what got us in trouble and that is where we are in trouble right now at a central government level because sign agreements that bind the hands of future government that binds the hands of future municipalities and future mayors.”

Andrea Polanco

“Should you win on March third, how soon are you expecting to have a sit down with the C.W.U. on that matter?”

Bernard Wagner

“Well, we already wrote them back and we want to get that done based on our agreement with them – thirty-first March and we have an agreement in place by the end of April. That is our pledge to them.”