Philipsburg:--- Vice President of the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions Claire Elshot called on all workers on St. Maarten during the union's weekly press briefing on Thursday to verify that they are registered at APS (the general pension fund on St. Maarten). Elshot said that APS sent out a notice to workers which is dated one day before St. Maarten became a country. Elshot said in 2002, the APNA implemented a pension overview on a yearly basis. Elshot explained that members of APNA should have all their annual overviews while the 2010 overview would be up to October 9th, 2010. Elshot said that last overview issued by APNA is a very important overview since it outlines the status of the employees/pensioners.
Elshot said that workers should go through the overview carefully and ensure that all the information including their salaries are correct. She said that if there are errors there is a grace period given to workers to send in a letter to APS requesting that the necessary corrections be made. Elshot said she had a personal experience with her co-insurer and when she queried the information, APS told her that there was a glitch in the computer.
Elshot said in another instance, a teacher that was insured since 1996 was only put in the system as of 2010. "This teacher's premiums were being deducted since 1998 and she bought one extra year and all of that money she paid into the pension fund could have been lost. Elshot said she only found out about this because this was the first time she got an overview from that teacher and she took it upon herself to call APNA and they told her that APNA only entered her name in the system as of 2010." The WICLU vice president said that the pension premium is compulsory and it is being deducted from the moment the person begins working. Elshot insisted that workers should verify and ensure that their rights are protected. "Workers should not take their status for granted because the premiums are being deducted. They need to visit the APS office and verify if their information that is in the system is correct.
WITU President Calls on Education Minister to give Teachers their Resolution.
The President of the Windward Islands Teachers Union also called on the Minister of Education to hand over the resolution to all teachers working for public schools on St. Maarten. Elshot told reporters on Thursday that while there are number of swearing in ceremonies taking place on the island, the workers have not been given any resolution to state that they are working country St. Maarten. "I am calling on the Ministry of Education to make sure the teachers working in public schools receive their resolution." Elshot said she complained several times to the Ministry and to do date the teachers working in public education cannot get their resolution. Elshot said that the union ran out of time and they intend to send a demand to the Minister of Education and Personnel Affairs which would have a deadline included.
COLA Payments not fully Completed --- Pensioners are not being paid.
The Vice President of the of WITU Claire Elshot confirmed that the COLA payments for 2010 are not yet complete since all the pensioners did not receive their COLA payments as yet. Elshot also confirmed that the union met with the Prime Minister to discuss how the 2011 COLA payments will be made. Elshot said the Prime Minister maintained that the government of St. Maarten cannot continue paying the COLA payments under the same structure. Elshot said that while government is saying they cannot pay the COLA as is, the cost of living on St. Maarten is rising on a daily basis. "Just recently gas price increased again and government doesn't seem to understand that these workers need to live and the only thing that helps them is the COLA payments.
