When Will Stevedores Receive Sugar Redundancy Funds from Tribunal Ruling?

Oscar Requena

The Leader of the Opposition’s also asked Oscar Requena, the Minister of Labor, to say when the Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal’s ruling on sugar redundancy payments for stevedores will take effect. The ruling was handed down in 2022, in favor of the Christian Workers Union. But, those stevedores are yet to be compensated in accordance with the tribunal’s ruling. So, what has been the hold up? Minister Requena sought to explain.

Oscar Requena, Minister of Labor

“My grandmother use to tell me and I appreciated and heeded her advice, that humility takes you a long way. Humility is the quality of a good leader as well. What we see the leader of opposition displaying shows that he has a great deficiency in humility. I stand before you to address the question raised by the leader of the opposition regarding the enforcement of the essential services tribunal award on the matter of the stevedores of the Port of Belize Limited regarding sugar redundancy payment. Allow me to provide a comprehensive overview of the events that have transpired leading up to the current circumstance. In July 2021 the CWU brought forth a trade dispute to the Ministry of Labor encompassing concerns of the redundancy package to stevedores. It was referred to the tribunal and the tribunal issued its oral award on January twenty-seventh 2022, followed a written award on March thirtieth 2022 directing both the CWU and Port of Belize to engage in negotiations to determine terms of payment for the redundancy package. Despite the tribunal’s directive the award was not adhered to prompting the ministry’s intervention in facilitating negotiations.”