Philipsburg:--- Four members of the National Alliance Faction and Members of Parliament namely its leader William Marlin, George Pantophlet, Dr. Lloyd Richardson and Frans Richardson met with a delegation from the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association to discuss the amendment of the civil code that would curtail the abuse of the short term labour contract.National Alliance Leader William Marlin in an interview with SMN News said the SHTA is concerned about the consequences of the amendment of the civil code. Marlin said the SHTA made a presentation to them which showed that the tourism industry on St. Maarten is bleak compared to Aruba. The information provided by the SHTA showed the hotel occupancy rate on St. Maarten is much lower than Aruba while the price for hotel rooms there are also cheaper than St. Maarten. The SHTA also pointed out that the marine industry also suffered tremendously since the increase in fees. One of the objectives of the SHTA was to convince the National Alliance to maintain the short term labour contracts. Marlin said his faction pointed out that the intention is not to get rid of the short term contracts but they need to curtail the abuse of the short term contracts.
The National Alliance faction members of Parliament also pointed that amending the civil code is not the cure for every problem that is presented by the labour policy but their objective is to make sure that persons who are working certain jobs be taken off the short term contracts.Marlin indicated to the SHTA that there are local people working year after year at the same job on contracts and they are not able to even rent a house from the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation. These people he said cannot get a loan from the bank to purchase a parcel of land or a house, yet they have to live with the stark reality that St. Maarten has the one of largest harbor and airport facilities in the Caribbean.
