No Resolution in Sight in Sugar Strike

The Sugar Cane Industry Control Board met in Orange Walk today for five hours but the news tonight is that cane farmers are still on strike. They have been on strike since Tuesday when farmers stopped delivering cane to Tower Hill in protest of the core sampling unit. The strike has crippled production at the factory and is now threatening Belize’s ability to meet its quota. That’s why today representatives from the Cane Farmers Association and the Belize Sugar Industries Limited met with Chairman of the Industry Control Board Nemencio Acosta in the hopes of solving it today. But in the end, it didn’t work; the impasse stands, and the general strike remains in effect. 7NEWS was in Orange Walk today to find out why.

In the broiling sun, the farmers waited in front of the Sugar Cane Industry Control Board’s office on Fonseca Street for four hours. In the end – they got the bad news.

Eric Eck, Chairman – Sugar Cane Farmers Asociation
“There has been no resolution up to now and the cane farmers that you see here that are gathered, they have said that they will permanently go on strike until the core sampler is totally removed.”

Eric Eck – the Chairman of the Sugar Cane Farmers Association says it wasn’t because they didn’t try. He says they tried to compromise.

Eric Eck,
“We had a proposal from the cane farmers to suspend the core sampler. Nevertheless we almost reached to an agreement in which the core sampler was going to be suspended for this year and the cane farmers were going to be paid the way they were used to, accordingly 36 for Corozal and 34.50 for Orange Walk. But I must state that the coring was still going to go in effect but the farmers were not going to be paid based on their quality. And we as the cane farmers, we pass a resolution whereby we stated that for this and next year, for the first two years coming, the payment by quality would not be in effect. Only at the second and the third payment the quality, the farmers that deserve extra bonus will be given. But after analyzing all that procedure, I noticed that farmers will still be affected.

I must say that we know that we must work under quality but the way that it has been implemented is not the correct one because the core sampler was brought before bringing any assistance to the cane farmers out there in the fields and that is what cane farmers are demanding. They are demanding assistance in the fields, they are demanding technicians and afterwards we can think of quality. But up to now, no.”

Keith Swift,
You are losing money and so is BSI and the country is losing money. Aren’t you spiting yourselves?

Eric Eck,
“Yes we know that we are losing money but still on delivering our cane we were already losing our money because we were not getting the money we were expecting to get. So in that term we were losing money. The people are supporting the strike because they feel they can’t go anymore with the cane system they are being paid.”

And what makes it all worse is that on the brink of a crisis in the industry – government’s point man Nemencio Acosta ran out of answers.

Keith Swift,
What is government going to do?

Nemencio Acosta, Chairman – Sugar Cane Industry Control Board
“Well they know that the industry is at a critical period.”

Keith Swift,
It’s been shut down.

Nemencio Acosta,
“Yeah, the mill is receiving cane; 1,200 and 1,300 and things like that but there are two different views of the farmers out there. The farmers that we see out here are the ones that performing below average. The farmers who are performing above average are not here.”

Keith Swift,
So what is government going to do?

Nemencio Acosta,
“Well it is not only what government will do because well it is true that it will have to go back to government.”

Keith Swift,
Sir I am asking again, what are you going to do? It’s been four days, there have been a lot of meetings, you guys sat in there for half of the day and nothing was accomplished. Everyday that practice is not operating at full capacity – the country is losing money. What is government going to do?

Nemencio Acosta,
“Well like I said a while ago, government could make a ruling but it would have to depend if BSI would be in agreement.”

But at least one farmer says it boils down to this:

Luis Novelo, Cane Farmer
“The very concept of the core sampler is very good, I agree with that. But if it is doing more harm than good, my amigo – how would you react. The same way like we right.”

And how they react took on special meaning late this evening when the cane farmers converged on Tower Hill. The situation remained tense and volatile when we left.

Yesterday only 1,300 tons of cane was processed at Tower Hill. On a normal day, it is usually six thousand tons. As we say it is threatening our quota because a ship is in port being filled – but the stored sugar supply is about to run out, according to our sources. And so, unless they start processing this weekend – they will likely run out of stored sugar to fill the ship.