Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers press briefing that the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) payments will be made.The Minister of Finance said that the COLA payments are for the year 2010 and the government of St. Maarten has an agreement with the unions about these payments. Minister Tuitt said right now the government is reviewing the legal basis (paperwork) so that they can make the payments. Minister Tuitt said to speed up the process they will be making a pre-payment then they will proceed to do the legal paperwork for it to be booked in the government administrative work. Tuitt said government will also be looking at the tax structure to ensure that the civil servants are not over taxed.
The Finance Minister said he will be convening a meeting with the unions shortly so that he could update them on government's plans and their way forward regarding the 2010 COLA payments.