Philipsburg:--- President of the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) Claire Elshot told reporters at the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions' weekly press briefing on Thursday that she intends to meet with the head of the Department of Labour Peggy Ann Dros- Richardson to discuss a situation at some of the government schools. Elshot said recently she learned that the government of St. Maarten (Facility Services) has been outsourcing jobs to a particular employment agency. Elshot said that the company that government has chosen to use to outsource permanent jobs does not pay its workers neither their social benefits. Elshot further explained that just recently she was apprised of the situation that is having a ripple effect on teachers and the other cleaners.
"Two months now these people that were brought in to replace workers that went on pension have not been paid. Some of them have decided to stop working because they are not being paid. When this happen then the teachers have to clean up their classrooms after their regular school day and there are cases where the other cleaners have to do double work by cleaning the classrooms that were not cleaned." Elshot said that there is a draft law on the Employment Agencies and government would have a consultation with these agencies however the unions have expressed their concerns regarding these agencies.
The Employment Agencies on St. Maarten have become the employers even though their workers work for various companies. The WITU President said that the companies where these workers work does not take any type of social responsibility for their workers. She said government has to take a number of ILO conventions into account regarding workers rights. Elshot said one of the main problems is that these workers are not unionized. She said she was told that government already made two to three payments to the employment agency but the workers were not paid. However, just last Monday the owner of the company gave each of the workers Naf. 200 and told them they should take leave. Elshot said all of the workers are owed up to three months salaries. The WITU leader said government has to lead by example. She further explained that cleaning the school is just as important as teaching because the students have to be in a clean and hygienic surrounding, this is a part of the health and safety regulation that states that schools must be cleaned on a daily basis. "I need to make clear that the workers that were sent by the employment agencies were working to the best of their abilities. They were cleaning the classrooms spic and span but in most cases when issues arise the employment agencies blame the workers. Another predicament these workers are faced with is that when they approach the labour department the only information they can give the labour department is the name of the person that hired them and not the name of a company. It is clear that government has chosen to place their responsibilities in the hands of one person." Elshot explained that the same thing that is now happening to these workers happened at the Simpson Bay Resort Management Company (SBRMC). The permanent workers of that company were thrown out of a job and replaced by workers that were outsourced through employment agencies. Elshot said that based on the information she received, some of the workers are working for one lady whose name she said is a "Joseph" and the workers who were not being paid did some research and they were informed that the person in question was paid three times already by government.
