Philipsburg:--- Members of the St Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) met with members of the executive council. In a press release issued by the SHTA they said they opened the meeting by stating that it is the objective of the private sector to hire local labor as long as they have the appropriate qualifications. Applying for work permits only arises when it has been determined that qualified locals are not available.SHTA's concern is that the business sector isn't performing well at the moment, meaning in terms of labor, that many businesses are operating with core staff only. For businesses that are heavily reliant on foreign labor, the SHTA is receiving complaints that lately the application process has become more cumbersome thus impeding business operations.
The main areas of discussion were:
1. Processing time for renewals of permits
The SHTA was informed that there are structural changes happening at the Department of Labor as it is transitioning into a Ministry. However, this has not affected the processing time for permits, which is 6 weeks.
2. Clarification on which employment permit policy is being used
There is some confusion on which policy is being used. SHTA was informed that the policy that went into effect in December 2009 by the NA/ Heyliger Government is still being used and that copies are available at the labor department. The policy is meant to be reviewed with stakeholders and introduced in July.
The SHTA also brought up examples where renewals for long time employees (10+ years) were rejected. Commissioner Hyacinth Richardson informed that such incidents should be brought to his attention immediately.