Four months have passed since the Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal brought an end to a years-long labor standoff between the Port of Belize and its stevedore workforce, yet not a single step has been taken to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that would resolve the core issues at the heart of the dispute. The entire arbitration process, which dragged on for more than 12 months, came to an abrupt halt in March when the Christian Workers Union rejected a revised confidentiality agreement, walking away from the negotiating table and leaving the dispute unresolved.
Today, after the government of Belize assumed formal control of the Port of Belize, stevedores say they are still waiting for the new administration to follow through on its public promise to restart good-faith negotiations. Bruce Diaz, the chief union representative for the stevedores, says workers have maintained extraordinary patience through months of inaction, but issued a stark warning: if government and port officials do not return to negotiations imminently, the entire Belizean economy could face cascading disruption.
“There is no tribunal left – the process abandoned us back in February,” Diaz explained in an interview. “We have been waiting to coordinate a meeting with Port of Belize leadership ever since, and we have not received any response at all. After the government took control, they confirmed they would sit down with us to finalize the CBA. To date, we have had no meetings, no productive discussions, and we need to move forward. We all know that if stevedores are forced to stop work, every Belizean will feel the impact – and we workers will feel it too. We do not want to take that step, so we have held off in good faith to see if they will meet with us to sort through the current issues.”
Diaz emphasized that getting a new CBA signed is non-negotiable for the workforce, highlighting the grueling, uncelebrated work stevedores perform to keep the national economy moving. “Stevedores work around the clock, through rain and extreme heat, while executives and directors are at home asleep,” he said. “We work in pouring rain, dry off in the sun, and keep going to keep Belize’s economy flowing. If the Port of Belize stops functioning, basic goods from noodles to chicken sausage will not reach local communities – and prices for all goods will skyrocket. In past negotiations, we have made concessions to keep operations running even when we did not get the terms we needed, and that remains the case today. We are calling on the Port of Belize to meet with our negotiating team and finalize this CBA before the situation escalates.”
Diaz added that stevedores initially viewed the government’s takeover of the port as a positive turning point, with workers holding out hope that the new administration would bring a more collaborative approach to labor relations. Months later, however, the workforce says it feels ignored, sidelined, and forced to issue a public warning to get the attention of port leadership. This report is a transcribed excerpt from an evening television newscast, with Kriol language statements standardized to written English for clarity.