Sugar strike continues – Godwin, Magaña meet!

An indefinite strike called by the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) continues into its tenth day today, but the first steps are reportedly being made toward bringing it to a conclusion.

The farmers continue to demand that the core sampler unit used to test sugar cane quality be dismantled and removed permanently, and passed a unanimous resolution to that effect at a meeting on Tuesday at the People’s Stadium in Orange Walk Town, declaring that they would not negotiate with the Government until this demand was met. They also continue to call for the Hon. Nemencio Acosta to step down from his post at the Sugar Industry Control Board (SICB).

CEO of the Association Carlos Magaña reported to Amandala this morning that while there is currently no formal negotiation underway with the Government, the Association is developing a concept paper outlining its solution to the situation, including unnamed alternatives to core sampling for quality control.

Magaña also said that he would seek the services of Senator Godwin Hulse, business representative in the Senate and a successful businessman in his own right, as a mediator in the dispute. The Senator had previously offered his services in this regard and confirmed to Amandala at press time tonight that he and the BSCFA representatives met in Belize City today and “explored a wide range of technical possibilities to enhance quality.”

According to Senator Hulse: “The discussions were fruitful. No agreement has been reached, but we agreed at the end of the meeting that the discussions would continue, and hopefully that we can work out something that will ultimately get the cane farmers returning to regular deliveries of sugar cane to the BSI factory.”

And it appears not a moment too soon for Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI), which warned in a press release today that if the farmers get their way and continue to deliver poor quality cane to Tower Hill, it “will produce losses all round and could initiate a very rapid closure of the mill, leaving no place for cane to be processed and a devastation of Northern Belize.”

“It is not too alarmist,” BSI continued, “to suggest that this situation could occur before the start of the 2009/10 crop unless some clear reasoning prevails.”

The strike, particularly the demonstrations and chaos at the Toll Bridge and Belize Sugar Industries factory on Monday, February 2, has gripped the nation and elicited all manner of opinions from across the political and national spectrum.

PUP representatives Hon. Johnny Briceño (party leader, Orange Walk Central) and Hon. Florencio Marin, Jr. (Corozal Southeast) have sent out separate statements calling for the Government to take the lead in talks, compensate the family of Atanacio Gutierrez, investigate changes to the payment system for cane farmers, and convene a Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of Monday’s tragedy.

The Chamber of Commerce and Belize Workers Union have both weighed in, the BWU stating that they “empathized with the cane farmers” but called on them and other warring parties to negotiate and finalize a workable agreement.

While things have reached a state of normality in Orange Walk Town in the aftermath of Monday’s rioting, it may take a long time to calm down the angry cañeros who were injured by police fire and lost one of their own, Felix Atanacio Gutierrez, 46, of San Victor, Corozal.

During Tuesday’s emergency meeting of cane farmers at the People’s Stadium in Orange Walk, the cañeros unanimously approved a resolution marking February 2 as “Atanacio Gutierrez Day” in the dead cane farmer’s honor. He leaves behind six children and a wife, Benita.

A post-mortem was conducted this afternoon at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City, and funeral services are yet to be finalized, but will likely be held at the weekend.

As for the remaining 11 men injured, including two police officers, all save one have been treated and released from the Northern Regional Hospital. The last casualty is stable and recovering from a gunshot wound to the hip.

Meanwhile, BSI, reeling from the continued shutdown of the Tower Hill mill and reportedly sending home workers even this week, issued a press release today to the major media houses outlining its view of recent events. (The press release is carried as an advertisement elsewhere in this newspaper, as well as other national newspapers.)

Neither Managing Director Joey Montalvo nor Financial Director Belizario Carballo was available for comment this afternoon.

Calling Gutierrez’s death “regrettable”, the release advised that because the current situation is unresolved, “there is already damage being done to the economic fabric of the industry and Belize…”

Continues the release, “… any further delay in processing the 2009 crop will prove irreversible to the financial health of all stakeholders.”

BSI reiterated that the Sugar Cane Quality Control Authority (SCQCA) controls the testing of cane with the core sampler, on behalf of the Sugar Industry Control Board (SICB), and that BSI could only make payments in accordance with the analysis given and under an agreed formula.

The release goes on to review the history of the sampler, reassuring farmers that the overall average price revenue sharing agreement will not change (65% to farmers, 35% to BSI), but that the emphasis will be on quality and efficiency in harvesting and transport. BSI insists that the BSCFA agreed to full implementation of core sampling for this crop and argues that more than 82% of farmers had received payments of $2.00 and more above the average, about $37.

BSI argues that it was the BSCFA who sabotaged the agreement on core sampling after agreeing at a meeting called by Prime Minister Hon. Dean Barrow on January 15 to abide by its implementation, and that the Association again went back on a proposal made on January 30, four days into the strike, to defer the start of payment by quality to 2010, with full implementation by 2012 – they claimed that the membership voted down the proposal.

Alleging that Belize’s usual reliability in providing quality raw sugar has been tarnished recently, necessitating reforms, BSI stated that it needs to have the information provided by the core sampler so that it can assist in getting improvements in production, and called on the Association leadership to better educate its members on the present condition of the industry.

The release closes by saying that if the alternative happens – poor cane going to the mill – Tower Hill would buckle under and the whole industry suffer. It called on the Association to drop calls for the removal of the sampler and return to negotiate, saying that all stakeholders had to work together to save the industry.