C.W.U.: Privatization Was “Original Sin” at Port

And, at this point, businesses being affected by the standstill at the Port of Belize may want to begin taking a serious look at their contingency plans because the Christian Workers Union and stevedores are showing no signs of letting up. Evan “Mose” Hyde, President of the Christian Workers Union, held a press conference in Belize City this morning.

Evan “Mose” Hyde, President, C.W.U

“Put yourself in the shoes of our members on Saturday afternoon. In the midst of everything that has happened since May of last year, only to have that in the middle of discussing the Thursday dispute, that we were once again proposed the reduction of gangs. This very thing that had provoked our members in November of 2021, this very thing that has so enraged them, what would you do? How would you feel? Where will you stand? Well, that is what our members felt on Saturday afternoon. Yesterday, leadership of the Port Authority asked us, well what is the way forward? I promised them we would get back to them on that. Let me state for the record: we believe the way forward is to look backwards and to let history guide our judgment and consciences. To understand where we are right now, you must understand the privatization of the Port. We put this matter squarely in the hands of the Briceño Administration. Our membership has born the worst of the anguish caused by that original sin. The Government of Belize backed a thirty million dollar loan, or sanctioned it from the I.D.B., to A.S.R./B.S.I., to support its relocation to Big Creek. It did this with the justification that our cane farmer brothers and sisters needed to have the transportation cost mitigated. C.W.U. cannot argue that the well-being of our brothers and sisters in the cane industry is of national importance. What we are arguing today is the plight of our brothers and their families who now sit in the sewer tanks of your privatization adventures, are of national importance as well.”