B.C.C.I.: G.O.B. & Unions Impasse is Bad for Business!
Marissa Longsworth
One of the main reasons why the chamber is calling for an end to the impasse between G.O.B. and the unions is because they say that they are concerned that if the standoff continues the way it is, it will “add more strain to an economy already under severe stress.” In its release, the chamber noted that Belize’s economy contracted over fourteen percent in 2020 and is expected to only experience a two percent recovery this year. So, the chamber is now saying that if the G.O.B. and unions can’t reach a compromise, it will be very bad for business.
Marissa Longsworth, President, B.C.C.I.
“It can be damaging as we look at matters to do with how we fast track economic recovery and for the business community that is really the biggest concern.”
Andrea Polanco
“We know that the P.S.U., they have tendered their notice for industrial action and more recently the B.N.T.U. announced their intention to strike. Can you discuss what those collective actions will do, the implications of those?”
Marissa Longsworth
“These sorts of disruptions also impact badly the productivity of a country. It becomes very burdensome to try to survive and to try to absorb the cost and losses that come from consistent civil unrest and other issues that interrupt and disrupt everyday life. So, what we aim to do is to try and minimize that as much as possible, everything that we advocate for as it relates to keeping the number of productive days as high as possible is because of the need to keep businesses going and to keep things running. All of these have a serious ripple effect on us because if we don’t make it to the port on time not only does a company have to pay fees for that purpose because they now have to store those goods until another ship can go and we lose foreign exchange as a result of that as well. And one of our biggest crises right now is a lack of foreign exchange so if it is that the problems that exist at the core of Belize’s financial crisis has to do with whether the private sector can generate growth and income, then naturally any disruption, and we understand that there are reasons for disruption but the fact is that any disruption particularly one without an end in sight because are at point with this. We don’t know how long this can go on and we don’t know how explosive it can get so we are, potentially as a business community, looking at days or weeks at a lack of productivity.”
