COL Payment still not Regulated --- No Money Found Yet.

Philipsburg:--- Civil Servants and teachers who are awaiting their cost of living allowances for year 2010 still has to wait a bit longer since the government is yet to allocate the monies. Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams confirmed this on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers press briefing when SMN News asked the Prime Minister if government was able to find the monies elsewhere since it was not budgeted.
Wescot Williams said government has not yet started the discussions with the unions on the restructuring method of indexing the salaries. She said these discussions will take place when the monies for the COL payments is available. Wescot Williams said the discussions that are currently being held is two phased since they are trying to find a solution for the 2010 COL payments and the ways and means of indexing the salaries of government personnel. The Prime Minister said right now government is using a policy that states that as long as there is a cost of living increase government workers must get an indexation on their salaries based on a percentage. She said right now the personnel cost of government is increasing annually. She further explained that they are trying to find a sustainable way to deal with their personnel. Besides the annual indexation, government also has to index the salaries of the workers based their evaluation. The Prime Minister said if government does not put this matter in its right context then personnel cost will spin out of control.