Philipsburg- The governor of the island territory of St. Maarten reminds the general public that the Netherlands Antilles Labor Affairs Administration has confirmed that Monday, December 15, is a public holiday. This new holiday, Kingdom Day, is to compensate for Antilles' Day (October 21) which ceased to be a public holiday, as of this year.Kingdom Day marks the date on which in 1954 the islands of the Netherlands Antilles obtained autonomy within the Dutch kingdom and the Kingdom Charter was signed.
Businesses may open on Kingdom Day, with employees opting to work on a voluntary basis.
Employers are reminded that they must adhere to the labor laws, as laid down in the labor regulations of July 27, 2000 (Publication Sheet 200, no. 67), on these official holidays.
Employers are thus asked to keep in mind the relevant labor laws regulating work performed on that day.
This entails that persons can only be put to work on a voluntary basis and must be paid the tariff for holidays stipulated in the labor laws, if work is performed on Kingdom Day.
The Governor of the Island Territory of St. Maarten additionally reminds the general public of the following:
Thursday, December 25, 2008 is an official holiday (Christmas Day). In keeping with the Law on Shop closure (Publication Sheet 1969, nr. 58), all places of business must be closed on that day. Absolutely no exemptions are granted for businesses to be opened on Christmas day. This includes all stand alone casinos, which are also expected to close on Christmas Day.
The aforementioned is not applicable to those businesses mentioned in article 3 of the law on shop closure, i.e. pharmacies, as far as it concerns the sale of medicines and medical products; cinemas; bars, restaurants; hotels and guesthouses; stores located in hotels, on airport premises and on harbor premises; funeral parlors; gas stations and bakeries selling pastries, milk and milk products.
Friday, December 26, 2008 (Boxing Day) and Thursday, January 1, 2009 (New Year's Day) are public holidays. This means that businesses may open on those days, with employees opting to work on a voluntary basis.
Here again, employers are reminded that they must adhere to the labor laws, as laid down in the labor regulations of July 27, 2000 (Publication Sheet 200, no. 67), on these official holidays.
