PHILIPSBURG:--- The Social Economic Council (SER) this week concluded a series of successful workshops entitled "SER's past and present" conducted by the Training and Development Institute of eminent labor relations expert Clarence Richardson. In separate courses for SER staff and SER board members, Mr. Richardson elaborated on the history of labor unions, employers' organizations and social economic councils in the different islands of the former Netherlands Antilles. Useful training was provided on the process of debate and finding agreement in the council, as well as the technicalities of drafting an advice.
For this occasion, the SER was privileged to draw on the expertise of Mr. Clarence Richardson. Over a career spanning five decades, Mr. Richardson developed from a successful union organizer in Aruba through a career in Curacao to a skilled negotiator and mediator as well as an eminent labor relations expert residing in Sint Maarten, representing both employees and employers on different occasions. Along the line he was active in the Netherlands Antilles SER and chairman of the provisional SER of the Island Territory of Sint Maarten.
The program of the workshops included background on the development of labor unions as well as employers' organizations in Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten over the twentieth century up to the present day. Furthermore, attention was given to the relations between SER and government, to which the council directs their advice. With the help of case studies and several hands-on assignments, the discussions about important socio-economic topics and the drafting of advices was simulated. In well attended series of sessions spread out over two weeks in January, SER staff and board members participated actively en enthusiastically in the workshops and training exercises.
This training constituted another valuable contribution to the development of the social economic council, one of the new government bodies instituted as part of the new constitutional framework as of 10-10-10.
These workshops were made possible by Dutch development funds managed by USONA.