PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – On May 7tth 2020, there was an urgent meeting called by the Government of St. Maarten to the platform of the Unions on St. Maarten. The NAPB was hereby also invited. The intention of this meeting from the start, was to understand our Government in order to safeguard the economy of St. Maarten, and want to cut deep again into the poor civil servants pockets.
The measures that the Government wants to implement are exactly the reason why we are being victims today.
Cut or remove your vocational allowance. Well this is something that our members can not still understand how they dare to do or try this.Vocational allowance is the workers’ own money that they are saving from July till June the following year, and that in the summer time they collect it. From that money that they saved, they are already getting tax deducted which is already out of place and wrong. That moment which is the vacation money for most of the civil servants it has become a dependable source of income. Our vacation money has a name on it. So to say we actually enjoy that money is absurd.
Furthermore, we dare to remind the Government that the members of the NAPB, legal status is not even regulated and there is no talk with the Unions, when this could happen. And the Government still has the nerve to come with more measures that will lessen their income. They already make it known one time that most of them are living from paycheck to paycheck.
This statement is sad but it is the reality. How dare you want to hurt them more. For 10 long years, they are paying their dues to this community. For 10 years long, they have been fooled. For 10 long years we have been waiting. For 10 long years the members have built a doubt in their board. It can not continue no more. It has to stop and it stops now.NAPB is not saying no to the situation that St. Maarten is facing. It is a Worldwide issue. But almost every country has dealt with the situation whereby their community does not even feel the effect. There is a country whose Government is giving their essential workers a pay raise they deserve. I guess you all miss that news. It is on social media. We of the NAPB are not asking for a pay raise. Well what we demand is not to touch our vacation allowance. Period. Fixed these people’s legal status. Fixed these people’s position in the Organization they are so proud to represent. Every EOC meeting you have you commented very good to their Chief of Police for the Job well done and done by his officers. Now it would be a total disrespect to the Chief of Police, for you not to comply with the rights of his fellow comrades. The officers are not doing a good job because they are getting instruccion.
They are doing a good job because we are professionals in our field. There is no doubt in nobody that despite our legal status and position we are still committed to serve this public. And Covid 19 has made no change into it. Covid 19 a different dangerous situation, where the officers are dealing with an invincible and silent enemy are coming strong every day 24-7 to protect and serve their community. But do not keep testing them. In closing we like to tell our Government that, it is not that we do not want to contribute, it is that the civil servant just can not. There are a lot of other ways and means in order to cut costs and gain without touching our civil servants. It has reached the time now that the Government has to come on table with the Unions and explain to the US how you are gonna pay the civil servants. Covid 19 has teached everyone about the bad and good. Let us use the Good from it. One of them is Communication.
