Philipsburg:--- The Ministry of Labour in collaboration with the Tripartite Committee organized a church service which was held at the Philipsburg Methodist Church in commemoration of Labour Day (May 1st). Among those that attended the service were Minister of Labour Cornelius de Weever, Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin, Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt, Ombudsman Nilda Arduin Lynch, Chairman of the Council of Advice Mavis Brooks and several persons from the Department of Labour such as Policy Advisor Raphael Boasman and Head of the Labour Department Peggy Ann Dros-Richardson. Also among the invited guests were President of WITU and Vice President of the WICLU Claire Elshot and President of the WICSU/PSU Deri Leonard.
At the Sheer Restaurant, the invited guests including the three honorees were recognized for the efforts they placed in the labour movement on St. Maarten. The late Alrett Peters was considered the father of the labour movement. Relatives of the late Mr. Peters, including his son Sixto Peters and other family members accepted the recognition award for their father.
Head of the Policy Department and Chairman of the Tripartite Committee Raphael Boasman said Peters was the founder and President of the first labour union, General Workers Union of the Windward Islands in 1966 that was formed on St. Maarten. Peters was the first unionist that led a strike on St. Maarten in 1968 and also the first to sign a Collective Labour Agreement on the island, while he was also the first to organize Labour Day celebrations on the island in 1967. The late Alrett Peters represented workers from GEBE, Little Bay Hotel and Casino, and Harbour Corporation N.V. All of this was done under one union. During the 1960's when Peters established the first union he had approximately 500 members. He was the one that introduced the 40-hour work week for workers on St. Maarten, the family medical plan for workers, and extra pay for workers who worked on holidays. He also established that St. Maarten's Day (November 11th) be recognized as national holiday (working holiday).
The second honoree Willy Haize did not attend the service neither his son since both of them are overseas due to medical reasons. Haize was described as a man that is fearless, aggressive and has a style of militancy, some things that workers deemed necessary to deal with what they saw as ruthless corruption and exploitative businessmen and politicians. Willy Haize represented the workers of GEBE when he was contacted by the workers of that company. In 1973, Haize formed the United Federation Union (UFA) of the Windward Islands. His dress code back then was the living symbol of the UFA. His militant attitude and his talks made employers uneasy. Joy Arnell said just mentioning Haize's name would make some of the most ruthless employers hesitant and nervous. Haize's status skyrocketed overnight from being a magician to a messiah. Workers on St. Maarten admired Haize after he began to deliver victory upon victory for workers. The UFA had the power to close down trade since they represented workers at the Harbour, St. Maarten Aviation Services, and GEBE. The UFA could have shut off electricity and water in no time in St. Maarten, Saba, and Statia, the movement basically was in a position to cripple activities on the island.
The third honoree Sonia Tondu, worked behind scenes for workers. She has been a lifelong member of trade unionism. Tondu worked for ABN bank when she returned to St. Maarten and was part of the union "BEBA" that represented workers of ABN in the early 1980's. She later worked for the Philipsburg Jubilee Library and became a member of the Windward Islands Civil Servants Union/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU). In the 1990's Tondu joined the Government civil core in the Department of Finance. To date Tondu under the WICSU/PSU banner represents workers of the prison and casinos and has taken part in a number of negotiations on behalf of these workers with the government of St. Maarten. While still working for the Government of St. Maarten, Tondu remains a member of the GOA and continues to negotiate the benefits of workers with government.
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