BEWU in Solidarity with BCWU
Marvin Mora
The BCWU was joined today by Marvin Mora, president of B.E.L.’s Belize Energy Workers Union and also president of the N.T.U.C.B. He told us today that it’s a matter of solidarity because workers are being disrespected and their demands are being ignored.
Marvin Mora, President, Belize Energy Workers Union
“We realize that everybody is in the same boat because we are having problems as well through our collective bargaining and it seems the disrespect towards the employees from employers continues and we want the government to step in and do what is right. These types of abuses and these types of display of power over the smaller man has to stop.”
Reporter
“We know the confluence of events that led to the unrest in 2005. We had he Communication Workers Union first, the Energy Workers Union after and a lot of things fell apart after that. Are we at that stage yet or are you guys still at a level where you all are willing to listen to the attempts of the government to try to intervene and resolve?”
Marvin Mora
“We are always listening. The problem is that when we are listening, what we are hearing is not coming up to speed to address the issues as they currently are and that is something that becomes very frustrating for any trade union; to the point where the trade union have to do what you see that the brothers are doing over there. It is really important that the government not only steps in, but that they step in to have the matter addressed properly and not just pussyfoot around the issues.”
Reporter
“How far are you all prepared to go in terms of where do you all stand, the BEWU, with industrial action?”
Marvin Mora
“The BEWU in regards to our issues, we are very close to industrial action and we are hoping that at the end of the day, we can get a quick resolution on our issues and we can get a very fair collective bargaining that benefits everybody.”
This evening, the B.T.L. Board of Directors reacted to Thursday’s BCWU’s release. Signed by Chairman Nestor Vasquez, the release expresses disappointment at the union for failing to follow protocols within the company to solve disputes. The Board points out that there are only four issues raised by the BCWU which is in their hands. It further invites the union’s executive to meet with them to solve offending issues at a time and place of their convenience.
