Philipsburg:--- Parliamentarians of country St. Maarten who are the highest legislative body responsible for having the necessary laws in place to protect the rights of workers as well as the citizens of St. Maarten were told they should do the honourable thing and put laws in place to prevent companies from abusing the current loopholes in the labour law to exploit their workers.Labour mediator Kenneth Lopes and WIFOL President Theophilus Thompson made clear that if the pertinent laws were in place then the unionism would be stronger and workers would have had better job security. Members of the National Alliance faction who requested the meeting asked Thompson about article 34 of the Collective Labour Agreement that was signed by the management of Royal Resorts and the Union in 2009 and if that article is applicable in the discussions he engaged with the new management companies. Thompson assured parliament that it was because of that article and another article he identified in another CLA as article 32 that forced the new management company to agree to hire 145 workers indefinitely. The unionist said that the new management company presented three proposals during the weeks of negotiations he held with them and the first two were rejected by the union.
Members of the National Alliance faction asked the union and the labour mediator if the company was playing games when they manufactured paper companies to get rid of the workers, since the management company remains the same with the same person as managing director of both new companies. That managing director at center of the Pelican saga is also a member of parliament Jules James who participated in all the negotiations including the one held on Wednesday night.James also participated in the parliamentary debate on Thursday even though the chairlady of parliament Gracita Arrindell told SMN News last Tuesday that when this meeting is called James would have had to recluse himself from the meeting. It turned out that based on the rules of order James is allowed to participate in the debate but he would not have been allowed to vote if that was needed.
The National Alliance faction also showed that while there is a paper trail to show that the names of the companies have changed, the lawyers and workers are the same, yet the company wanted to get rid of the workers who have worked for the company for years and to rehire them on short term contracts or outsource labour to Mexicans. Another high point discussed with the labour mediator and union was the fact that Pelican Resort is short staffed and there are already three local companies working for Royal Resorts as outsourcing companies. Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin asked what sense does this make. The company he said is short staffed and they are outsourcing work to outside companies who may have personal interest to those working in management or the current political arena. Member of Parliament Louie Laveist said he fought for years to protect workers and the political party to which he was affiliated could not care less about protecting the labour market. Laviest further said he was the only elected person under the Democratic Party who fought for the increase in minimum wage which he finally secured.
While most of the stern questions were posed to the labour mediator and the union. Attorney at law Jairo Bloem representative of the new management companies attended the meeting even though he had indicated to the chairlady of parliament by letter that he does not agree with the invitation presented to his clients to answer to parliament while it is the council of ministers who are responsible for providing answers to parliament. Bloem said the council of ministers were given full disclosure on the ongoing issue relating to Pelican Resorts which was foreclosed on December 16th despite two court cases by the Tennants Association who objected to the foreclosure. Bloem also informed parliament that the judge ruled in favour of Royal Resorts both cases are in appeal. Chief Executive Officer of Royal Resorts Richard Curso also attended the meeting where he provided information on the financial aspect of the company and why former owners were forced to foreclose. Curso said the company was sold to its financiers since they were the only bidder. The new owners turned out to be the mother company of Royal Resorts incorporated in Mexico.The entire audio of the parliamentary proceedings is below we urge our readers to take the time out and listen to the audio we have provided.
