Union and sugar company agree on contract

After several weeks of hard talk and a series of slowdowns and work stoppages, agreement has finally been reached on a new contract for sugar workers. The Belize Worker’s Union and Belize Sugar Industries Limited came to terms Monday night as an open-ended B.W.U. strike lost steam in the face of worker defections and disenchantment on the part of cane farmers unable to deliver their full quotas. Details of the agreement, which differ little from the offer rejected by the B.W.U. last week, include a one and a half percent bonus, contingent on B.S.I. achieving profits of five hundred thousand dollars for the current financial year. The bonus will be increased to two percent if profits reach nine hundred thousand and will be pro-rated if profits fall in between the five hundred and nine hundred thousand levels. Where the terms differ from the previous offer is that B.S.I. has agreed to advance workers the full two percent for the seven months from December 2003 to June 2004. This will be paid around the end of June when the current crop is completed. The balance of the bonus, dependent on the amount of corporate profit, will be paid in December. The risk being taken by B.S.I., which allows the union to save some face, is that if profits fall below five hundred thousand dollars the workers will get to keep the already disbursed seven-month two percent bonus. The B.W.U. had originally demanded a ten percent salary increase while B.S.I. steadfastly insisted on a wage freeze.