PBL's position is outlined in a series of press releases which they used to hurl a multitude of allegations at members of CWU. Those allegations included but were not limited to vandalism, illegal strike action, and rejecting mediation. They also put their business out in the street, so to speak, stating that "Stevedores earn an average of BZE $38,216 per year for an average of 38 days of work." All this without saying how much their executives earn.
But for all its press release bluster, Union president Mose Hyde points out that the Port's leadership has refused to face the media and submit themselves to the many questions about the true state of their finances.
Mose Hyde, President, CWU
"I think ultimately one of the things you could always say I am not seeking out cameras and mics but I make sure that every time the media asks me to come in front of these cameras and mics that I am available because I have nothing to hide and I will speak truthfully every time I get in front of this mic. You can write anything on press release but have they submitted themselves to the scrutiny of the media, not their attorney, has anybody there had the decency and respect for the Belizean public that they want to convince that we are a bunch of violence loving hooligans and thugs that don't want, in fact based on the security threat that they evoked we can even be classified as terrorists. We push back against that with everything we have. That is a level of demonizing that we do not accept and will not accept. But I want the Belizean people to notice that every time the media wants to come and ask us the difficult questions, we are here. Not attorney. We are here. There are people calling the shots at that place, not Mr. Salinas who are not even in the country. Go and find out who is Stuart Howard, go and ask Mr. Salinas you would want to interview Mr. Stuart Howard, because you can do it by Zoom. He is the big shot that's calling the shots, he is the man from the British Caribbean Bank that is making the shots against the laws of the country because the person who is supposed to be calling the shots at the port is the receivership, not the person representing the creditor. If you are able to interfere with the receivership then you are acting as an owner and you best demonstrate that you are the owner. I want to take this opportunity to point out that we were also given a document a two-sided document that purports to be financial transparency where their auditor goes on the record to say that the company is losing, that its financial situation is 14 times worse than the same time period last year. Simultaneously the auditor makes the claim that the company has average only a net profit of $300,000.00 annually. Meaning $25,000 per month, yet the company apparently can sustain a economic depression that is 14 times worse over this period than it was last year, a company that is sitting in such a margin, because they are making this argument now so conveniently to make sure that they are not accused of depriving our members of their 5% bonus. PBL is not making more than $300,000 for the year. As one of our members pointed out, some of the vehicles that they have bought are more than $300,000."
While efforts at mediation continue there is still no word on when operations at the Port can be expected to resume.
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