Audrey Matura-Shepherd has surpassed Prime Minister Barrow for best zinger of 2015. On Tuesday, January 27, the President of the Christian Workers Union landed a blow on Arturo “Tux” Vasquez, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Belize Limited, so sharp that it knocked PM Barrow’s reference to attorneys of the “low grade, empty vessel variety” out of the top spot. She basically called him a premie.
Matura-Shepherd and Vasquez are holding temporary positions that cause them to be at odds and it has led to a public verbal shootout in the last week. On January 20, Matura-Shepherd responded to accusations by the Port of Belize that she has been dragging her foot on CBA negotiations by saying, “When we go to that negotiating table it will be when we are ready.” She says the union will not continue on the path that the previous executive was on. Instead, they will start new negotiations from scratch. On January 21, Vasquez told 7 News that when he saw the press conference he was “pretty happy to see it, because I can tell you that I have never heard from the Christian Workers Union since Mrs. Matura took over the presidency”. He said her statements about starting from scratch were “troublesome and disappointing” because “the stevedores know – the negotiating team that was on that know how much we have already accomplished”. Vasquez said he is hoping that it was just words thrown out in the hype of the press conference.
On Tuesday, January 27, Matura-Shepherd responded to Vasquez’s “disappointment” with her executive’s decision to start negotiations from scratch. In regards to the C.E.O./Receiver, she said, “CWU has every right to present a CBA to the Port, not to Mr. Vasquez personally, he is just a representative there.” She went on to say that Vasquez’s reference to her position as “troublesome” is his opinion. She added, “I think it’s premature for him to say that… but I realize that a lot of men like to act prematurely. I could accept that.”
It will surely be entertaining when the two finally meet at the bargaining table.
