Philipsburg:--- President of the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions (WICLU) Theophilus Thompson blasted Members of Parliament on Thursday during WICLU's weekly press briefing for the lack of adopting certain laws that were part of the Netherlands Antilles. The laws Thompson said are to protect workers on the island and had the Parliament of St. Maarten done their job then the workers of former Pelican Resort (Simpson Bay Resort Management Company SBRMC) would not have been in the predicament they are in.
Thompson said St. Maarten has its own parliament now where they can adopt, amend, and make laws and they as a union have been following the meetings of parliament while they have also been monitoring the performance of the various parliamentarians. Thompson said that the Members of Parliament who are legislators are acting as though they are island council members. The union leader said during the parliamentary debates the discussions are always personal and there is nothing about nation building being discussed. That, he said is a concern for the unions on St. Maarten because so far there have been a number of issues pertaining to the working class and no laws have been adopted or amended by the Parliament of St. Maarten to protect the working class.
Thompson said the workers of SBRMC are continuing with their legal struggle and by the end of January the legal team and WIFOL will update the media regarding what they intend to do next in order for the 182 workers to receive justice.
