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~ TelEm says help sought for pilot ~

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) has accused the TelEm Group of hiring eight undocumented Surinamese workers for a major Fibre to Home project, while there are competent locals including former TelEm technicians who can do the job.

TelEm however, said that the Surinamese workers were being used for the pilot fibre to home project and has assured that TelEm fully supports the use of local contractors and that the actual project will be open for bidding.

SMCU President Ludson Evers told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday that the company failed to put the project on bid to give locals a fair chance despite promises from TelEm official Helma Etnel that this would be done.

The union wants Government, Parliament, Immigration Department, the Labour Inspectorate and Labour Department to intervene in the matter. "It is unacceptable that local people can't get jobs and are being overlooked," Evers said adding, "a stop has to be put to this illegal situation."

Evers said the matter was brought to the union's attention on February 17 when it received a copy of a letter from former TelEm Network Technician and fibre expert Alberto "Fish The Boss" Arrindell, regarding the use of the overseas undocumented workers while he has a company as well as the skills to perform the same tasks. The letter had also been sent to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. Arrindell had been working at TelEm for some 17 years and had attended numerous trainings to enhance his skill before he was made redundant during the company's restructuring several years ago. According to the union Arrindell was the one who did all the fibre rings in St. Maarten and is more than competent for the job being done by the Surinamese workers.

The individuals, Evers said, came to the island in February and include five workers and two supervisors. He advocated that the workers do not have crib numbers and are fleecing government of taxes.

The Surinamese labourers are reportedly carrying out work in Beacon Hill and are performing work related to TelEm's fibre to home project as well as other "regular" work to include splicing of copper cables for the TelEm Group. The SMCU President said the same set of workers had been brought to the island after Hurricane Gonzalo in September 2014 to help TelEm in the cleanup exercise.

At that time the company brought this to the attention of the union and the union agreed to it as it was an emergency situation to get customers back online. Evers said however, that this is not an emergency and the many former workers who were skilled in the job should be given a fair chance.

After receiving the correspondence from Arrindell, the union met with Etnel, who is originally from Suriname, on the matter. He said Etnel had acknowledged that the workers were undocumented, but said the company "would fix it." The union President contended that it was against the country's labour laws to bring in persons to work here illegally then file for their papers. Papers have to be filed while the person is abroad.

"When it comes to blowing and splicing cables, there are sufficient people on the island to do this job. We don't need to bring in people from Suriname," reporters were told.

According to Evers, Etnel promised to resolve the matter by putting the project on bid to give locals a chance.

Additionally, TelEm's Social Plan with the union stipulates that former employees, who had been made redundant, would be given first preference for work from the company providing that they have the legal documents to do this. This plan, Evers said had been ignored. The union president said he decided to bring this matter to the attention of the media after realising that Etnel did not put the project on bid as promised.

He said the union does not have any confidence in the company's board of directors, as the board is chaired by Rafael Boasman, who is also government's mediator – a conflict of interest situation in the eyes of the union.

On Tuesday the union sent letters to the Council of Ministers, Parliament, the Immigration Department, Labour Inspectorate and the Labour Department urging all to look into the matter. The union will also request a meeting with Gumbs on this and other issues.

"We want government, the Parliamentarians and everyone to step up and do something about this because this might just be the beginning," he said. "We won't let this continue and TelEm has to respect that bids have to go out."

Alleviate backlog

In an invited comment on the allegations, TelEm Corporate Communications Officer Joe Dominique said the assistance of the Surinamese workers had been used to alleviate the backlog and assist with the pilot fibre to the home project which was stagnated "due to the many demands on technical staff and local contractors."

Dominique said the company doing the Fibre to Home project is Cassa-Intra from Suriname, which has five employees. He declined to divulge the financial details of the project.

He said the pilot project involving the roll out of fibre to the home in St. Maarten was designed as a learning project for TelEm Group personnel, "many of whom are currently involved in various technical requirements throughout the company, causing a shortage of manpower resources."

"It has always been the intention to put the wider project out to bid once knowledge is transferred from the company assisting with the pilot project, when best practices can be properly documented and a sound Term of Reference created. TelEm Group wishes to state for the record that it fully supports the use of local contractors even if the price from an outside contractor is less expensive, since priority is given to the local workforce so long as the required work can be executed to the required standard," he said.

Asked about the illegal status of the workers, Dominique said: "The emergency situation caused by Hurricane Gonzalo required an emergency response to secure telecommunication service for the general population. The decision to continue with the team of workers following the end of the emergency warranted application for work documents which have been subsequently requested, awaiting approval."

He said Etnel stands by her promise to the union that the project for the island wide roll out of project will be put to bid. "Mrs. Etnel has been assured by the Technical Department that the bidding process will apply to the actual project and not the pilot project from which best practices, knowledge transfer and a proper Terms of Reference will be extracted."

Dominique said TelEm "will not comment of any alleged conflict of interest issues addressed by the union."

In the meantime, The Daily Herald sent several questions on this issue to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and acting Labour Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs via the Press Secretariat. The Secretariat responded: "Government is in receipt of all correspondence from relevant parties and is currently reviewing the matter."