Phones slowly coming back; unions ask P.M. to resign
After three days without telephone, email, and internet services, a limited number of land lines were restored over the course of today by Belize Telecommunications Limited. Those repairs, presumably made by management personnel, came in the wake of what is widely believed to be sabotage by members of the Belize Communication Worker’s Union. That labour unrest continued today as the B.C.W.U. agitated for employee ownership of the company, while the National Trade Union Congress finally put in writing what it had been thinking for a long time: that it’s time for Said Musa to resign. News 5’s Patrick Jones brings us up to date.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
When they showed up for work this morning, hundreds of employees of Belize Telecommunications Limited were kept away from their work stations by armed police officers standing guard at the gates.
Gilbert Canton, Chair, Public Utilities Commission
?It?s a quid pro quo, you get the system up, police goes.?
For hours the B.T.L. workers stood outside the gate on Princess Margaret Drive while P.U.C. chairman Gilbert Canton and C.E.O. Gaspar Aguilar tried unsuccessfully to reason with them to try and restore the phone system. President of the Communication Workers Union, Paul Perriott, says employees were ready to return to work, but not under duress.
Paul Perriott, President, B.C.W.U.
?Since this morning we had an agreement with the Prime Minister that we would not be going into the yard until the security forces backed down. Because they are asking that we assist them in finding whatever problem the system is encountering. So basically that was what we asked them, to have the police stand down and then we would again go in. the staff feel uncomfortable with that. We had planed that we would have had a key crew; go in there to see what is happening in the building before we actually get the staff in. We already got that crew inside and now we are calling the staff to go into work, but they have to investigate what is happening inside of the building, basically find out maybe if the police put any bugs or anything like that in place. I believe strongly that is how this government is operating so far. They are trying to find key people to pinpoint whatever and things like that. So what we are trying to do is getting all the staff go into their work place, find out if there is anything inside, any bugs or anything like that before.?
The situation deteriorated over the weekend when B.T.L.?s Human Resources Manager Dale Trujeque was arrested and spent Friday night in the police lockup. He was formally arraigned in Magistrate?s Court this morning, on a charge of taking part in an unauthorized strike. Defence attorney Dean Barrow says that charge has no merit.
Dean Barrow, Leader of Opposition
?We had been part of a session that was trying to work out the problems. I had left, they came for me because government procured an injunction and the police were telling the B.T.L. officials on the basis of this injunction we can arrest you. I came and I explained that that?s ridiculous. You would have to prove that the B.T.L. people have violated the injunction. You would have to go back to court to ask for an order of committal. And it was during the course of that sort of discussion that ACP Canton said well if I can?t arrest him for the injunction, I will arrest him in any case. And I said for what? For taking part in an illegal strike. I said but this is ten o?clock at night. We are here in the middle of a discussion, the C.E.O., other officials, if you are going to arrest him, how come you won?t, he said, no, no I will arrest him.?
?He of course comes to the Magistrate’s Court his morning to be arraigned, as soon as the court book arrives, the charge will be read to him, he will plead not guilty, the magistrate will offer him bail and he will be free to go until the trial date.?
That trial date has been set for the ninth of June, and in the meantime Trujeque is out on bail of four hundred dollars plus a surety of the same amount. Back in uniform this morning, Trujeque told News Five that he is undeterred by the arrest.
Dale Trujeque, Human Resource Manager, B.T.L.
?I feel good honestly I feel we’ve reached a point where we as the workers who are the only people who I think can genuinely…the country of Belize and the Belizean people can genuinely believe will take care of the shares on behalf of the Belizean people. This is the point where we are at. Let them come forward, give it to us, hand it to us, let us find an arrangement where we can get the shares. We are the best people and I believe the people of Belize would entrust us and would agree, would have the confidence that B.T.L. workers can manage control of those shares for them.?
Barrow says that in meetings with the Prime Minister over the weekend, he registered, as Leader of the Opposition his opinion that the P.M. needs to find a solution to the problem once and for all.
Dean Barrow
?I was acting in a dual capacity as I said, as a representative of the employees and in that capacity, determined to put their brief forward. In my capacity as leader of the opposition, I said to the Prime Minister that in my view all this is not going to be solved, all this is not going to go away. Basically, it appears to me that we have reached a stage where things are becoming ungovernable and the only way out as far as I can see is for the Prime Minister to set a date for new elections. I told him that, that I believe sincerely that he needs to seek a fresh mandate. At the conclusion of the formal meeting with the B.T.L. people in the evening, a letter was hand delivered to him by the B.T.L. workers union president Paul Perriott. That letter of course is a letter from the National Trade Union Congress saying to him exactly what I had said to him in the morning.?
The N.T.U.C.B. letter opened by saying that the congress, representing some fifteen thousand workers has lost confidence in Said Musa?s leadership as Prime Minister and called for his resignation, as well as the resignation of the entire Cabinet. Perriott says while the unions have hinted it in the past, it is time to spell it out for the Prime Minister.
Paul Perriott
?We?ve been asking for that for a while. We started the first movement, we did not express it in that term, but we were in agreement that he needs to step down. We have asked for quite a few changes to be made with regards to how they run the country and they have not agreed to any. We signed a ten point agreement, they are pushing us around, we cannot get an agreement on any of the ten points so far that we have asked for. So unanimously as I said when we started this movement within B.T.L., we took it to the trade union council and told them that look, this is not about B.T.L. anymore, our employees are looking at this as farther than BTL. We need to look at the whole national picture now and get the public involved in this, get all the unions again involved.?
George Frazer, General Secretary, N.T.U.C.B.
?It?s a terrible tragedy for Belize what is happening where we are right now and the bottom line is that it?s the people who are paying the price. And so we have sent a letter to the Prime Minister, as you all heard he is asking for a meeting. And we have to consult on this and decide whether we will meet or where we go from there. Because this matter really is not helping us. The image of Belize is to its lowest ebb out there and even more than that, the disquiet among the employees, among Belizeans as a whole, the disruption, the cause of all kinds of underhand deals and thing, so we have to engage to bring back Belize to a firm footing and with the people in charge.?
Patrick Jones, for News Five.
The telecommunications news that was supposed to dominate the headlines today–that is the long awaited B.T.L. board meeting scheduled for this morning by tele-conference–could not be held due to the lack of phone service.
