Philipsburg:--- The members of the current coalition government namely the United Peoples Party and the Democratic Party will meet sometime to discuss the effects of the Pelican workers that were dismissed by the company's General Manager who is also a Member of Parliament. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams confirmed on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers press briefing that she plans to schedule a meeting with her coalition partner to discuss the effects of the dismissal of over 100 workers. The Prime Minister who recently returned to St. Maarten said she cannot say when the meeting will be held since it has not yet been scheduled.Wescot Williams also confirmed that the government of St. Maarten agreed to waive the transfer tax for Simpson Bay Resort Management Company BV (SBRMC) and Royal Resorts Management Company Ltd so that the two companies would keep the 183 workers that would have lost their jobs when the companies purchased Pelican Resorts.
The Prime Minister said waiving the transfer tax was part of the agreement but there was some sort of technicality which prohibited government from waiving the transfer tax. "At the end, it seemed impossible for a transaction to take place with the transfer tax not paid. So the company had to issue a check and the financial persons of government were in discussion on how they will comply with the agreement to waive the transfer tax. I know there was an issue regarding the waiving of the transfer tax, which had to be worked out. I don't know if the transfer tax was fully waived or if it was delayed."
When asked by SMN News to elaborate on her opinion on having a Member of Parliament who is also a Managing Director for a company. The Prime Minister said one of the things that they have to focus on is the situation at hand regarding the former Pelican workers. "We have to look and see what can be done and what tools and mechanism is available to government to regulate or to prevent companies from firing their workers. I also believe that the Pelican saga will trigger discussions on whether or not the laws of St. Maarten have to be changed. The law does not prohibit a Member of Parliament from having second jobs and everybody is using that to their advantage. But I believe that this will eventually lead to changing of the laws to ensure that anything that seems or appears to be a conflict can be dealt with according to the laws."
The Prime Minister also said that the legislation that is being worked on by Member of Parliament Louis Laveist to prevent double functions is a step in the right direction.
In the meantime, the Court of First Instance will be issuing its decision on Friday on the injunction that was filed by the Workers Institute for Organized Labor (WIFOL) and its members.
