SANITATION WORKERS PROTEST

August 17, 2006

About a hundred sanitation workers from the Belize Maintenance Limited protested through some streets in Belize City.  Their reason was based on the fact that they have not received their full salaries for the past three weeks.  This is because their employer, Belize Maintenance Limited, has not received their full payments for the contract they have with City Hall.  Belize City Mayor, Zenaida Moya and her Council have stated the reasons why City Hall has been unable to meet its payments to not only the sanitation companies, but the utility companies as well.  A news release issued today by the Government’s Press Office states that Prime Minister Said Musa met yesterday with Minister of Local Government, Jose Coye, Leader of the Opposition Dean Barrow, and Mayor Zenaida Moya.  The meeting was to once again discuss the Belize City Council’s financial problems.  The case presented by Mayor Moya sought relief in three main areas.  These include a contribution from the Belize Tourism Board, and the cost for sanitation and debt servicing.  Prime Minister Musa told Mayor Moya that he has encouraged the B-T-B to consider the Council’s proposal favorably.  A decision should be made on that issue shortly.  Mayor Moya informed that the Council has also started a revision of the current sanitation contracts with a view to reduce the cost.  Government insisted that any revision of the contracts should not result in any sanitation worker losing their job.  On the matter of the Council’s debt servicing problems, government has also agreed to postpone the deductions for loans from the Council’s subvention until further notice.  Meanwhile, Mayor Moya is in a meeting at this hour with representatives of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize and the National Workers Union, which are representing sanitation workers.  The ones who work for the Belize Maintenance Limited have not been collecting garbage for the past few days.  The N-T-U-C-B has since informed the managers at the B-M-L that because sanitation is an essential service, it is illegal to stop garbage collection without first giving City Hall a 21 day notice of intended strike action.  Hence, B-M-L management has since told their workers to report back to work this afternoon.  However, Second Vice President of the National Workers’ Union, Joseph Martinez, believes the breach of contract was committed by all parties involved.

Joseph Martinez: Second Vice President of the National Workers’ Union
“Well it starts at the top I believe that the people at top or the present Administration and then it all goes down to those at City Hall and then it ends up with us. Everybody is to be blamed including those people who stand by because sanitation is everybody’s business.”

Marion Ali: Love FM
“Now the agreement yesterday was that all of you including the ones from Sanitation Enterprises Limited would gather out here, why is it that only BML workers are gathered? I saw SEL workers are fully on the job and I asked a few of them and they said they chose not to come out because they have been paid in full up to last week.”

Joseph Martinez: Second Vice President of the National Workers’ Union
“Well kudos to them but today is our turn on south side and tomorrow I don’t know whose turn it is. What I am saying is if you stand by and see something happening you are part of the conspiracy not a part of the solution. We are not alone we are sanctioned by the National Trade Union Congress of Belize.”

President of the National Workers Union, Bernard Briceno, told us that his union is prepared to take the matter as far as they can.

Bernard Briceno: President of the National Workers Union
“We believe that with this demonstration we will have a lot of support from the public form the City Council and from the Government so that the workers continue work and they continue get their pay.”

Marion Ali: Love FM
“How many people would you say took part in this protest?”

Bernard Briceno: President of the National Workers Union
“I believe one hundred workers apart from those who came out just to support.”

Marion Ali: Love FM
“Would you say that this was a failed attempt being that the workers from the other company that you expected to take part did not come out?”

Bernard Briceno: President of the National Workers Union
“We are setting this as an example an example for the other workers from SEL so more or less when ever the time comes they have any problems they could always come to us and have that support from us we will represent them also. So the advice that we give the SEL workers is to continue deal wit us and we will be one hundred percent behind them.”

Marion Ali: Love FM
“There will be a meeting today between the mayor of Belize City Zenaida Moya and yourself, what you are taking to the table; they too are telling you that they don’t have the money.”

Bernard Briceno: President of the National Workers Union
“Well you see took the first step the day before and we join with the NTUCB we had a meeting with them Wednesday night and afterwards we decided that we are going to meet the managers of SEL and BML and we did that now we are going to meet with Ms. Moya and then more or less we will have information from three parties and then we will know what to do, if we have to go to Belmopan then we will go to Belmopan.”

We spoke with the proprietor of the Sanitation Enterprises Limited, Rupert Marin, whose company employs almost 300 workers. He said his workers did not stop working because his company has not issued the 21 day notice of intended strike action.  He added that their workers also did not protest this morning because they have all been paid in full.  Marin also said that he will meet with Mayor Moya this afternoon to further discuss his company’s financial constraints.  City Hall has also not been able to pay Marin’s S-E-L company, but he met salary payments last week for his workers by making arrangements with the lending agency that he deals with. In our conversation with Marin, he was also optimistic that workers salaries will be forthcoming in time for their pay day tomorrow.

|

|