Earlier this week, Port of Belize stevedores went public to call for the resignation of two leading executives of the Christian Workers Union (CWU) – president Antonio “Pancho” Gonzalez and General Secretary James McFoy – by tomorrow, Friday; and today, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) announced that it had indefinitely suspended the CWU from its fold.
“It is a tough decision but tough love is what we need right now,” said NTUCB President Dylan Reneau, who told Amandala that the relationship between the CWU and the NTUCB has been on and off since about 2008.
“The NTUCB notes the public campaign being spearheaded by the stevedores who are members of the CWU, and we will consider all concerns as we work to bring CWU back under the fold of the NTUCB,” the Congress said in today’s statement.
Reneau told us that the current schism between the stevedores and the union executives – particularly Gonzalez and McFoy – was not the trigger for the suspension. He said that they had been talking with the CWU for some time to try and resolve their issues, and they were hesitant to make the decision to suspend the CWU.
Reneau said that he doesn’t think they’ve ever suspended an affiliate union.
The NTUCB press release cites two reasons for the suspension: (1) non-participation in NTUCB activities, as required by the Constitution of the NTUCB, and (2) non-payment of affiliation fees.
The non-payment of fees is a major point of contention in the ongoing dispute with stevedores, who say that the CWU collects about 30-grand in dues each year, but has not delivered for them.
According to Reneau, the fees the unions pay the NTUCB depends on what they get in from members. The CWU has not paid fees to the NTUCB since 2010 or thereabouts, said Reneau, adding that they have also not been attending AGMs for some time.
“They are an affiliate and we should ensure they follow their constitution,” said Reneau.
He said that although the NTUCB has no power to sanction the CWU, they can question them for alleged breaches with the view of finding out how the union would repair those breaches.
Of major concern to the stevedores – who are among the 400-plus members the CWU has indicated it has – is the lack of financial reporting and the fact that an AGM is long overdue.
Our newspaper notes that back in 2007—when there was controversy over $18,000 reported missing—then vice president Emerson Burke had called for an overdue AGM, and the dispute even then was over financial accounting and the management of the union.
The stevedores have said that they don’t want Gonzalez, who has been CWU’s president for about a decade, to reapply for presidency.
Reneau said today that some CWU members have complained that they have not been getting fair representation.
As for which body is ultimately responsible for oversight of the CWU, Reneau said that that power rests in the hands of the Tripartite Body, headed, he believes, by a former labour commissioner.
According to Reneau, CWU can also face decertification by the Tripartite Body, if they are not doing what they are obligated to by law.
CWU represents Social Security workers, stevedores, staff of the First Caribbean International Bank and of the Central Bank, as well as some credit union workers, Reneau indicated.
Amandala was unable to reach Gonzalez and McFoy for comment.