Port of Belize C.E.O. Expresses Disappointment in Breakdown

Ted Peralta is the new chief executive officer at the Port of Belize Limited.  He says that the Christian Workers Union decided on its own to go back on an arrangement that was already slated for discussion.  The C.E.O. says that the attempt to revert to the unproductive arrangement of one gang, one ship, places the Port of Belize in a difficult situation with only one container gang working a vessel for fifteen hours.  The vessel then leaves the quay and returns nine hours later for operations to resume.  Peralta also touched on the decision of the Essential Services Tribunal to have both parties discuss a settlement in a previous matter.

Ted Peralta

Ted Peralta, C.E.O., Port of Belize Ltd.

“It’s quite disappointing that the CWU took the unilateral decision to renege on what we already had on the table, without even having a discussion with us.  We then find ourselves at this [juncture].  [It] obviously impacts not just the stevedores but it impacts Belize on a whole.  It’s basically holding all of Belize ransom.  We have containers, we have perishable goods on these containers that obviously need to be discharged and we find ourselves in the peculiar situation that we can’t discharge it.  We are still open for dialogue, we are still open for negotiation to have the CWU sit at our table and we reach a  consensus on how to move forward. We don’t take for granted our employees.  It goes without saying that we didn’t or at this present moment have changed or have any manner of changing anything that we have agreed upon.  It is sad to, at this point in time, to look at what the CWU has presented to its members in regards to the point moving forward with the tribunal.  And again, let me just further note that during last week or the past four weeks, the union did meet with the labor minister and the discussions have still been pending for us to then meet the labor minister which is supposed to happen on Monday.  Obviously, we await for this to happen so that we could then forward across what was given to us by the tribunal.  Now again, we find ourselves in an impasse because we see this as already being something on the table that is up for discussion and having it for discussion then we don’t really see why we are at this particular situation.”