Marigot:--- The department of labour and the Inspectorate of labour on St. Maarten have confirmed in writing that Marc David, a resident of Grand Case, is not registered with the labour department as an employee of Tac Gaz which is also a registered company on the Dutch side of the island.
David provided SMN News with the original copies of letters he received from the head of the Department of Labour drs. Peggy Ann Dros who confirmed to him in writing that Blue Flames N.V. doing business as Tac Gaz, located at 54 Cannegieter Street, Philipsburg has been registered with the department of labour affairs since 2008 with an updated business registration of October 2011.
Dros further stated in her letter that the company Blue Flames doing business as Tac Gaz has two employees registered in their employ but Marc David is not one of them.
In another letter which was also provided to SMN News by Marc David, Acting Head Inspector of Labour Andrew Budike confirmed that after investigating, the inspectorate also found that Tac Gaz is a registered company on the Dutch side of the island but Marc David is not a registered employee of the company.
Marc David also provided a warning letter dated June 10th, 2010 which was addressed to him, signed by a representative of Tac Gaz, and copied to the Island Labour Department. In that letter the writer states that David is always late for work and that was his final warning letter.
David told reporters on Friday at the Palais de Justice that he was working for Tac Gaz for the past four years and was not declared by his employer who happens to be the President of the Chamber of Commerce. He said that he was fired in December 2011 when the labour inspector visited Tac Gaz on French St. Martin to conduct a control and found him to be working for the company illegally. David said his employer accused him of calling the labour inspector because he was having problems with the company. David and his union representatives have taken Tac Gaz to court while the labour inspector is also conducting an investigation. The case has been deferred to the criminal courts and will be heard sometime in February next year.
SMN News made several attempts to contact the owner of Tac Gaz for a comment on the issue but he could not be reached by telephone.
