PHILIPSBURG:--- Justice workers waiting for salary adjustments dating back to the start of Sint Maarten’s country status still have no firm date for receiving the outstanding money. Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling told Parliament that the ministry expects to complete its calculations for the next phase by the end of November, but could not say when it will make payments.
The first phase of back pay extended only to January 1, 2023. The second phase covers the period from October 10, 2010, through December 31, 2022, where applicable. Tackling said ministry staff are preparing the calculations and advice for that period. Once completed, the files must go to the Ministry of Finance for further processing.
“I cannot provide a definitive date,” Tackling said of the payments. She told Parliament that the budget allocates approximately five million guilders annually for a structured payout, while actual disbursements remain subject to the broader government payment process.
Retired justice workers are still assigned to the third phase under a schedule that predates Tackling’s term as minister. She acknowledged that some people entitled to adjustments have died while waiting. Tackling said she has asked ministry staff to examine whether retiree cases can be processed sooner, but made no commitment to change the schedule.
The minister’s answers leave serving and retired workers with two different milestones: a target date for the ministry to finish its second-phase paperwork, and no confirmed date for the money to reach them. For retirees and the families of those who have died, even the start of their phase remains uncertain.