Tribunal Empanelled to Address Labour Dispute Between P.B.L and C.W.U.

The ongoing labour dispute between the Port of Belize Limited and the Christian Workers’ Union inches closer to impending strike action. The dispute between the parties arose out of an Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal Award that was handed down on January twenty-seventh, 2022. The decision stipulated, among other things,  that the Port of Belize Limited was to pay its share of contributions to the retirement savings for twenty-eight stevedores from July thirteenth, 2021, the date when the dispute was brought to the attention of the Minister of Labor. Both parties were to also promptly negotiate for payment under the Redundancy Package, as agreed between them on March sixth, 2020. But the Port says that the C.W.U.’s notice to strike is based on its misconceived interpretation of the tribunal’s ruling, in which it wrongfully asserts awarding the stevedores redundancy payments for the move of bulk sugar to the Port of Big Creek. P.B.L says that none of the stevedores lost earnings because all of them were placed in other positions. But whether or not there will be a strike is yet to be seen. We’ve learned that the Minister of Labour has empanelled members of a tribunal to deal with the matter in the coming week. We’ll keep monitoring this developing story next week.