PHILIPSBURG:--- Chief Executive Officer of TELEM Group of Companies Kendall Dupersoy penned a letter to the St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) after the employees of the company held a protest action on Wednesday. In his letter Dupersoy asked the SMCU if they enjoy playing the victim, he said whenever he talks to the union they consider it disrespectful.
The contents of the letter are below:
SMCU PRESENT
February 17, 2021
Kendall Dupersoy Executive Division Chief Executive Officer
Reference: CORP-006-2021
Description: Letter sent 12 February 2021 Ref Cost-Cutting Measures
Dear SMCU,
Do you enjoy playing the victim? Every letter is disrespectful, when I talk to you it’s disrespectful. You know what is disrespectful? When you constantly make untrue statements in the media and to staff when you know the opposite is true. Your constant bullying of staff and management is what is disrespectful. Publishing of private letters in your members WhatsApp chat is disrespectful. Respect earned is the respect given, when you as a union behave in respectful manner, is only then you can claim disrespect from anyone.
Admittingly, the letter I sent did not say in exact terms that it was a proposal, but it also did not say it was final. I sent the letter to the union expecting you, to at the very least, request an audience. However, although you claim that it is I who does not want to negotiate, in actuality it is you that behave in an autocratic way. You refuse to acknowledge the financial situation of the company and are refusing to negotiate a new CLA that better reflects the current telecom situation worldwide. Instead of contacting me directly, all of you have my number, you prefer to send a letter meant for you to the employees which then causes a walkout and unrest. Which in my opinion is your ultimate goal.
You have no intention of sitting down and coming to a realistic solution with limited impact on the employees. You prefer to stick your head in the sand and make statements like ‘Government has not imposed any measures to reduce our labor conditions’, even though you are fully aware of the law passed in Parliament almost two weeks ago. Your opinion that the law is not yet in place is of little consequence. I never told you in the letter that I will implement the measures tomorrow.
In conclusion, since you have addressed the issue to the Government Mediator, Management will adhere to the rules and engage in the process. In the meantime, I request your indulgence that no additional payments will be made until such time that you are satisfied that the law is active and the negotiated measures can be applied. Your acceptance of this condition is very important because if any payments are made during this time, the impact on our colleagues when you are satisfied that the law is active will have extremely negative effects on us.
I hope that you will in the future refrain from making the untrue statement that I am not willing to negotiate just because I do not adhere to your wishes. As a concession, I too will make sure to clearly indicate when something is open for negotiations. However, as a rule, any document I send to the union before sending to staff is open for negotiations.
Regards,
K Kendall Dupersoy
