PHILIPSBURG:--- The Council of Ministers in an emergency meeting on Friday adopted the three proposed points made by the United People’s Leader MP Rolando Brison to ease the minds of Justice workers who have been slowed down for a week. The intervention of UP Minister Omar Ottley, and Members Lyndon Lewis and Ydelline Heerenveen was met with no opposition from the police unions on Friday.
According to a press statement from the NAPB union on Saturday afternoon, "Friday, April 14, 2023, the entire Council of Ministers of the Government of Sint Maarten, including the honorable Minister Richardson, the Minister of Justice, and the Prime Minister, Ms. Jacobs, held a meeting with the board members of the NAPB (assisted by their legal advisor Cor Merx).
The gathering took place in the Governments Building under the – excellent- chairmanship of the Honorable Prime Minster Jacobs.
The meeting was called into existence to find solutions for the current situation the police workers are facing.
The topics that were covered include amongst other things:
1. Placement letters
2. Backlog payments
3. Overtime
4. Salary scaling according to the index of 16.3% and 3.2%
After a successful 2.5 hours long conversation, both parties left the table with a feeling of optimism.
The discussion went very fruitfully respecting each other’s points of view and was sometimes very detailed.
The issues that were in the media for the last two weeks have been solved in good faith and trust.
Most importantly, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for the police workers, as both parties have expressed their intent to work together and bring this matter to an end. "
The union said although there was not a final solution on Friday, the Council of Ministers -via Minister of Justice the Honorable Minister A Richardson- came up with another proposal on Saturday morning April 15th. Which was to pay workers 1000 Naf extra and increase the cap of overtime by a few Guilders for the 2023 Carnival season.
The placement letters are in the final stage.
With regard to the backlog payment up to 2019, it should be noted that 25% is ready for a payout next week, while the members would like to see a timeline for the remaining part as soon as possible.
Finally, the fourth issue that has to do with the 16.3% and 3.2% inflation of the salary over the years no action has been taken as of yet.
Therefore, this and the time frame will be the main focus point in the upcoming meeting on Friday 21 April at 2 PM.
As a consequence of the results of this last meeting, the police workers are willing to end the “slow-down” and are willing to work “over hours” during Carnival to make this the festive and safe event it is supposed to be.
All parties feel confident that they will be able to work out a solution together. The press release was sent out by the Legal Advisor of the NAPB and on behalf of the Police workers from KPSM, Immigration, and (National Detectives) Lands Recherche.
In an invited comment UP Leader Rolando Brison said he was happy that all parties involved were able to come to a solution and wishes the public a safe and enjoyable Carnival 2023 season on behalf of the UP party members and thanked his colleagues of the National Alliance for their continued cooperation.
