Philipsburg:--- The members of the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions (WICLU) told members of the media on Thursday that they met with the Minister of Labour Cornelius de Weever and they were able to outline their grievances within the labour market. According to the WICLU members, the Minister of Labor and Health Cornelius de Weever was not aware of certain measures and or policies that are being used at the department of labour. One such issue is the denial of legal aid for non Dutch nationals. Theophillus Thompson of the WICLU said that according to the labor Minister, all workers on St. Maarten are entitled to legal aid. The unions are now waiting to see what type of requirement have to be met before the workers are granted legal aid when they are dismissed.Thompson said that employers are plotting against the social and economic fabric of St. Maarten and the WICLU made it clear to the Minister. Thompson said the businesses are no longer hiring people on a permanent basis, these businesses are hiring workers either on a part time basis or through employment agencies.
Thompson said the union also addressed their concerns on how the employment agencies operate on St. Maarten which according to the WICLU is against the ILO. Thompson said the labour Minister gave them an indication on how the department should function. He said based on what the Minister told them it is clear that the Minister has a lot of work to do in order to bring the department up to par. Both Thompson and Claire Elshot from the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) said the Minister is busy cleaning up and revamping the department of labor and when that process is complete the department should begin to function optimally.
Thompson said that the Labour Department implemented a number of policies that are hampering workers rights and these policies were not discussed in a tripartite setting prior to being implemented. The members of the WICLU said certain aspects of the policies are hindering workers from getting prompt assistance from the department. The WICLU considers this discriminatory against the working class. Thompson said the Minister gave the unions the impression that he was unaware of what was taking place at the Department of Labour and he promises to look into the matter. Other issues of concern that were also discussed is the abuse of the short term labor contract by most employers. Elshot said that unions plans to get the short term contracts out of the books since it is used against workers. She said right now the use of the short term contracts is a genocide against the working class and that she said must stop. The WICLU members have a tripartite meeting scheduled for later this month and the abuse of the short term contracts will be heading the agenda for that meeting.