Philipsburg:--- Disruption in the various schools and government offices will continue on Friday as the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU), The Windward Islands Civil Servants Union (WICSU/PSU) and the ABVO are calling on all their members to come out at the John Larmonie Centre on Friday where they will continue their meetings.On Thursday several schools had to send home students as many of their teachers heeded the call of the WITU to attend an informative meeting at the John Larmonie Centre to discuss a counter proposal to send to Finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto.
While the WICSC/PSU and ABVO called on their members to join the teachers who are protesting the withholding of their cost of living allowances, not many civil servants heeded their union's call.
President of the Windward Islands Teachers Union Claire Elshot told reporters on Thursday afternoon that government and department heads used certain measures to intimidate the civil core, thus forcing them not to attend the meetings. However, Members of Parliament and UP faction leader Romain Laville and George Pantophlet from the National Alliance attended the first half of the meetings on Thursday as they both expressed solidarity with the workers.
Elshot called on Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams who is responsible for general affairs and labour to inform the department heads of the ILO conventions that governs the rights of the workers with unionism. Elshot said the unions will no longer tolerate this act of intimidation as meetings are held during working hours in other islands and unions would gain the respect. Elshot said the schools and department heads are using some old antiquated tactics to intimidate the workers and if she takes the next step and reports it to the Geneva Convention, Brussels and ILO it would an embarrassment to country St. Maarten who seems not to know their ILO convention.The WITU president said St. Maarten now has an island crisis and as such they are calling on all their members to show up at the meetings. The unionist is also calling on parents to keep their children at home while the competent authorities should to inform parents to secure their children during these meetings.
Elshot said that the members of the three unions have decided to reject the proposal of the Finance Minister and as such they will be informing him in writing that his proposal has been rejected and as such the unions wants him to maintain the resolution that was agreed upon last August.
Juliette Greene Blyden general secretary of the Windward Islands Civil Servants Union (WICSU/PSU) said they are in solidarity with the WITU. Greene Blyden said when St. Maarten became country the intention was for the lifestyles of the citizens to improve. However, all they are seeing is austerity measures being imposed. The WICSU general secretary said they are looking forward to an improved livelihood for their membership. She said the millennium development was to improve lifestyles and to abolish poverty all of which she said is contrary on St. Maarten.Representative of ABVO Sajoel Richardson said the ABVO is also in total solidarity with all the proposals and resolutions that are sent to the Council of Ministers. Richardson said the ABVO is also in solidarity with the Pelican workers and as such the ABVO is urging their members to come out on Friday at the information sessions.
In the meantime, a blackberry message is circulating claiming that the Minister of Education said on Wednesday night during her campaign on compulsory education that the teachers are irresponsible and that the teachers are fighting for nonsense. Elshot said they also received the same message via blackberry, however, she will reserve her comment until the honourable Minister expresses herself to her. Elshot also said the only reason the teachers and civil servants are in the meetings is not to discuss what the Ministers think about them instead they are discussing what the Council of Ministers have done to them.
Elshot also told SMN News that during the meeting on Wednesday the unions were told that St. Maarten did not get back its share of ToT from Curacao from 2007 to 2010 and when the Netherlands Antilles dismantled the accounts were closed.
Much of the talks were about the deficit in the budget and the so called mess the new government claimed they met when they entered office in October.
We urged our readers to listen to the audio of the press conference with the unions.