LADYVILLE, Belize District, Wed. May 19, 2021– On Wednesday, an unexpected walkout was staged by several air traffic controllers and other staff members of the Philip Goldson International Airport (PGIA). Reports indicate that the Civil Aviation Department had to put into action a contingency plan to ensure that services remained uninterrupted and on schedule at the airport due to the sudden act of protest orchestrated on the premises of the PGIA.
The walkout was reportedly staged in response to the Department’s decision to give four air traffic controllers letters of intended disciplinary measures this week due to their failure to arrive at work on time last Saturday. The executives of the Department interpreted this as an act of sabotage in support of the ongoing industrial actions orchestrated by the PSU and Joint Unions to express their opposition to government’s reduction of the salaries of public officers and teachers. While 1st vice president of the PSU, Dean Flowers, has publicly stated that Saturday’s events were in no way coordinated by the union, the union came out in full force, wearing their yellow shirts in support of the four employees who were “unjustly” sent on leave and the employees who went on strike at midday.
In the aftermath of what occurred, the Ministry of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation hosted a virtual press conference, at which Hon. Andre Perez and the Director of the Civil Aviation Department, Nigel Carter, outlined the sequence of events as well as the department’s quick response in order to keep the airport’s operations running smoothly.
At the start of the conference, Hon Perez stated, “There was an attempt to disrupt air traffic services at the PGIA. I can report that services were not interrupted, and flights continue to arrive and depart as scheduled. Our team are fully aware of the impending threat of such actions, as we understand that some of the staff are members or are sympathetic to the calls of the unions. That is their right and their prerogative, but as the Ministry of Civil Aviation it is our responsibility to ensure that these essential services remain uninterrupted and safe.”
The remainder of the discussion was then handed over to Mr. Carter, who explained that within a span of a few minutes, notifications came from air traffic control officers, members of the air nautical management unit and members from the air traffic control tower respectively that they would be going on strike. Carter commended, however, those air traffic controllers who remained at their posts to ensure a continuation of services.
“What we must commend is the manner in which the air traffic controllers managed the situation — the staff, even though they proceeded on strike, sufficient staff remained in place to ensure that all aircraft that were inside of Belize’s air space either landed safely or exited Belizean air space. Therefore, there were no disruption of services in that regard. At approximately 12:36 p.m., we activated our contingency plan. This contingency plan ensured that the Central American Region Control Center would have insured that all en-route air traffic control services would be provided, notwithstanding we had staff at the air traffic control available to ensure that aircraft landed safely at the PGIA. At approximately 12:51 p.m. we had sufficient staff in both the air traffic control approach center as well as the aerodrome control center to ensure that Belize had full control of all its air space. During the event I have to reiterate that there was no threat to safety during the event and there were no delays to any aircraft,” Carter said.
According to Carter, there was a meeting with the staff in early May at which the staff was informed that the Civil Aviation Department was aware of the public officers’ right to partake in industrial action, but that the contingency plan must remain in place. The Minister then thanked once again the members of staff who did remain on-hand to ensure that services continued and to show that the PGIA has a backup plan to ensure safety and continuity of operations when it is forced to deal with such unexpected events.
The Director opted not to address the contents of the letters he received from the four air traffic controllers because, he said, “It is an internal matter that we need to clear up within the government of Belize, with the Public Services Commission, with the Ministry of the Public Service and the Department of Aviation.” However, he did say that, contrary to the sentiments of the PSU, the Department is not engaging in a “witch-hunt” against union members.
The president of the PSU, Mr. Gerald Henry, told Amandala that he was not present at the PGIA on Wednesday because he was not informed of the protest due to “internal political conflict” within the union. Despite being left in the dark, however, Mr. Henry reached out to his members regarding the matter to show his support.
“From what I was informed, the incident occurred because of some disciplinary action that was considered by the office against some of the workers there, because they had arrived at work a few hours late, from what I was told. The management there, from what I gather, thought that to be in line with the industrial action that the Public Service Union has been engaged in and, of course, if that’s the case, then they are acting outside of their authority to discipline our public officers. Because we have already submitted our twenty-one day notice over thirty-eight days or thirty-nine days now to the Labour Department and the Minister of Labour, which would then allow for those public officers at the office of the Civil Aviation to proceed on whatever industrial actions that they want to support,” Henry told Amandala.
He went on to say, “Nonetheless it appears that is what was the situation there, and the staff decided that they have the right, as the government itself has been saying, to engage in industrial action, so why, then, are they considering disciplinary actions to be taken against them?…It is very unfortunate that I did not know of the incident. Had I known I would have been on the ground certainly, but unfortunately I was not informed until it was actually happening, But, nonetheless, I reached out to the members already, and I have informed them that if it is that they’re going to be disciplined in any way, shape, or form, that they present those letters to the union, and we will have our Industrial Relations Officer along with my personal lawyer who has offered his time to represent these individuals. He has offered his services pro bono so that those officers will be properly defended if we need to go that route.”