SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has lashed back at statements made by Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius de Weever on the counterpart programme saying that having a counterpart in a Prime Minister's cabinet "completely misses the point."

De Weever said last week that the counterpart law had been applied in one case and had been used in the staff bureaus of the former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

However, SHTA says this misses the point. In a statement on Sunday, the Association said it is one thing to have one counterpart placed in a business that already employs 400 others, but quite different when such a counterpart is placed in a business employing just two or three. "The comparison with having a counterpart in the Prime Ministers cabinet misses the point completely – a business competing

with others in the market place cannot be compared to the PM's cabinet. And while it is true that the private sector has representatives in the Tripartite Commission on Labour TPC, consultation is not the same as approval."

SHTA said it had taken note of remarks made on the counterpart policy by MPs De Weever and Maurice Lake supporting the policy and that of One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP) leader Lenny Priest opposing it.

Director for IGY Marinas Brian Deher, who is also President of the St. Maarten Marine Trade Association and an employer representative on the TPC said employers' representatives in the tripartite committee had voiced concerns and objections about implementing the counterpart policy to the committee and to the Minister during several meetings. "Our concerns are in line with those that the SHTA has articulated over the past months. In an effort to work with all parties, the employers' representatives suggested that a volunteer programme for training counterparts be tested to see how such a programme would work and how many new jobs could be generated. To that end, I volunteered IGY Marinas to be the first company to use a counterpart under the suggested volunteer programme. It's unfortunate that the goodwill expressed by the employers to try to find a sustainable solution to increase employment without unnecessarily overburdening businesses has been taken out of context and is used in a way that insinuates our approval of the counterpart policy in general," said Deher.

SHTA said although it was, is and will remain opposed to the counterpart policy, it sees the need to reduce youth unemployment. "A valuable programme initiated by the Labour Office, partnering with various businesses and placing unemployed youngsters to gain experience appears to be a way of achieving that. Let us work together and see if we can expand that programme. SHTA invites all partners to go back to the drawing board and design a programme that is acceptable to all and is broadly supported by the business sector," said SHTA.

The Association said it remains firmly opposed to the implementation of the counterpart policy saying that it is "simply unacceptable to allow government to have such significant influence on the organisation and financial position of single businesses."

SHTA said it is dedicated to bringing quality to all aspects of life in St. Maarten by promoting sustainable economic development for its members in cooperation with the social partners and the creation of a fair marketplace.

Acting Minister of Labour Rita Bourne-Gumbs said the policy will be introduced in the third quarter of this year.