~ Discussions with De Weever still pending ~
PHILIPSBURG--Government has started issuing Brooks Tower Accord (BTA) permits that have been approved, Justice Minister Roland Duncan has confirmed.
He said, however, his discussions with Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever on his proposal on how to proceed with the 1,610 persons who submitted documents using the names of "bogus employers" remain pending.
De Weever is currently off island attending the United Nations (UN) 66th General Assembly meeting in New York from September 19 to 24 and Duncan said he hopes to discuss the matter with De Weever when he returns.
Duncan's proposal entails giving the "real" employers of 1,610 BTA applicants one last chance to present themselves and give their employees a chance to get BTA permits.
He had said on a radio programme recently that the matter was one that had to be resolved, because while he did not condone breaking the law, he was not in favour of deporting the 1,610 BTA applicants who had applied for their permits using documents from bogus employers. His proposal is for the real employers to come forward within a specified time, no questions asked. Those who failed to do so, he said, would be penalised.
"I don't think that I have to reject these applicants. The fact that they dreadfully want to stay in St. Maarten isn't a legal reason to say you will break or circumvent the law, but on the other hand I think it would be extremely disruptive to the society if we go and start picking up 1,600 people plus their families, when most of them are working," Duncan had said on the radio show.
"I think it will disrupt the society and it will damage the economy. I don't want to do that."
Employment law Middle East Extradition Gabriel Agbonlahor JS Bach Conservation
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