PHILIPSBURG:--- The board of the St. Maarten Communication Union (SMCU) said that the interim manager of NV GEBE Sharine Daniel has lied to the people of St. Maarten in the press release she issued addressing the situation with the Collective Labor Agreement (CLA) that has to be signed off by the company.
The union provided the string of emails between the interim manager and government mediator Marcelina Loblack.
Besides that, the SMCU said they only had one meeting with the interim manager which was held on November 10th, 2020. In that meeting, they said that Daniel promised to get back to them with information from the board but to date that has not happened.
Below are excerpts of the email communication between Loblack and Daniel.
A pleasant good afternoon Ms. Loblack,
First and foremost please take note that my last email was a reply to SMCU on NV GEBE’s behalf and was not directed to you ( please see below “ Dear SMCU”). Furthermore, with all due respect, it is evident that you did not comprehend the contents of my email therefore kindly refer back to the said email that was addressed to the SMCU.
With regards to your email that you are referencing, it should be noted your last email had no substance, furthermore, if you had been transparent with providing an explanation of your reasoning for cancelation, it might have prevented the harsh email that was sent to you by SMCU.
On another note allow me not only to reattached the letter that was sent to you but also to reiterate that According to best practices before any formal invitation is sent, it is a requirement that all parties confirmed their attendance. With this being said, once again I would appreciate this being done moving forward.
In closing, I will not entertain this indecisive behavior and apparent bias approach which is conflicting with the role of a mediator. As I expressed in my letter to you and as well as to SMCU, currently there is no conflict and I am still open for dialogue between SMCU and NV GEBE as was stated in my letter. ( see attached ) Hoping that this matter has been clarified and laid to rest until the legal and financial have been finalized and the results have been discussed. This is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2021.
Wishing you a pleasant day further and a safe weekend.
Regards,
Dr. Sharine D. Daniel, CFE
Interim Manager
In response to that email Loblack below:
Dear Ms. Daniel,
I have taken note of your email to the SMCU which was also addressed to the Mediator. For the sake of impartiality and transparency I find it necessary to react to some of your assertions in the correspondence.
The ongoing CLA discussions are between the NV GEBE and the SMCU. Your employees have exercised their right to choose the union representation of their choice and as such to represent them in the CLA negotiations.
It is therefore not unreasonable for the SMCU to request the NV GEBE to provide an update on the CLA negotiations. Referring them to their members for the information requested is therefore not advisable.
I have granted your request for postponement based on the information you provided with your request which I deemed reasonable and fair. However, my decision to postpone the meeting should not be considered an approval or support for the statements made in your email.
For that reason, I will convene a meeting with both parties in order to give the NV GEBE the opportunity to formally inform the SMCU regarding the status of the CLA.
I trust that both parties will act in good faith in the best interest of their employees/members.
Kind regards,
Ms. Marcellina I. C. Loblack
Government Mediator
Due to the fact that the government mediator granted a postponement of the meeting the union informs the mediator that they will involve the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs since she granted the interim manager her request to postpone the scheduled meetings. On December 4th Daniel informed the mediator that she was in the process of organizing internal meetings with the employees to update them but so far that was not done.
The union in their email to Loblack said that a large group of employees at GEBE remain without factual information on the status of the CLA and the social plan, which SMCU believes the office of government mediator is there for.
Your action is leaving the SMCU no other alternative than to seek the assistance of the Minister of VSA and inform the ministry of your action, and GEBE will receive a letter from the SMCU lawyer.
Click here a letter to the Minister of VSA.