~ Says decision already made, SG has to execute ~
PHILIPSBURG--Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever called on Wednesday for an investigation into the issues surrounding the dismissal request made by the Pelican Resort/Simpson Bay Resort and Marina (SBRM).
De Weever said on Wednesday that an investigation into the matter was needed to see where things had gone wrong.
"I believe that an investigation should be carried out. I believe that if there was a miscommunication or a lack of decision-making at some point we need to know where it was," he told reporters at the weekly Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday.
"As far as I've seen, for the documents, there were no major infringements or no major information gaps from their [Simpson Bay Resort and Marina, ed.] side. I think that they provided the information that was requested if there was anything that was missing, I'm sure that it [could have been provided, ed.].
"I know that up to a particular point a decision was made and it was up to the SG [Labour Ministry Secretary-General Jorien Wuite, ed.] to go ahead and do so, so whatever happened or did not happen needs to be completely investigated."
De Weever was responding at the time to queries at the press briefing about the status of SBRM's dismissal request for 49 employees. Two of the employees have since passed away.
Labour Department and Labour Ministry officials told workers at an informative session on Monday that the dismissal request had been received on April 26, nine months ago. Workers also were told that certain information such as SBRM's financial records and redundancy plan had not been provided to the Labour Department, despite repeated requests, resulting in the department being unable to make a timely decision on the request.
Workers also were told that SBRM attorney Jairo Bloem also had not provided clarity on which company had been requesting the dismissal, as the request had been made by Pelican Resort/Simpson Bay Resort and Marina, that the verdict of the latest court case also had not been provided, and that clarity was needed on the validity and relevance of the dismissal request.
Information at that session was provided by Wuite, Labour Affairs Department head Peggy-Ann Dros and Social Services head Mark Schloss. Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever's Press Secretary Lorraine Scot was also at that meeting, but did not address workers.
However, SBRM attorney Jairo Bloem has dismissed as absolutely false the claims by the Labour Department. Bloem challenged the Department and Labour Ministry Secretary-General Jorien Wuite on Tuesday to produce a single request that she or the department had made for additional information. "The question that should be asked is why the Secretary-General didn't do her job," Bloem had said.
Mark Miller of SBRMC said Bloem had requested no less than 10 times that Labour Affairs address the conditional layoff request that SBRMC had filed for 49 persons when it reached an agreement with WIFOL and government, an agreement that ultimately was not ratified by WIFOL.
Not responsible
In the meantime, De Weever said he was not responsible for decision-making on dismissal requests. "The minister is not responsible for this part of it. The dismissal request is handled independently by the department head and the SG. It's the same as the mediator and inspector; there is a certain hands-off that the minister has. That determination would have been made by the department head and the SG, not me."
Public statements
In a prepared statement at the briefing de Weever said parties had been requested to refrain from making public statements when trying to resolve the matter involving the more than 100 resort workers.
"When I asked SMBRC and WIFOL [Workers Institute for Organised Labour, ed.] to meet to try and resolve the gridlock it was under the condition that we refrain from making any public statements to avoid any more damage to the business and the workers.
"I gave SMBRC my word and I also went to see [WIFOL President Theophilus, ed.] Thompson and we requested him to do the same ? refrain from making any public statements regarding negotiations and the parties involved. My wish at the time was to get the people back to work even if it meant going back to the first deal that was on the table over a year and some months ago. I have lived up to my word.
"Unfortunately a meeting which was supposed to be an informative meeting turned into a media spectacle and grandstanding. This would not help us to achieve our goals. It is important that we all understand the direction that we would like to take this country and how we will get there together.
"I understand the role of the union, but the workers have bills to pay, families to feed, mortgages to pay, car payments, school fees, a roof over their head and food on their table for themselves and their families.
"So while others grandstand and spend thousands of dollars in lawyer's fees, our people the workers must continue to live and survive. I also understand the role of businesses. ... We sometimes think that investors or businessmen or -women have a bag of cash and can afford to pay for us, but we do not understand the reality either.
"As Minister of Labour I have to find the balance between employers and employees to make sure that one does not take advantage of the other. A responsible and stable government has a responsibility to ensure a stable and growing economic environment and at the same time provide job opportunities and job security. Businesses, unions and workers also have rights and responsibilities that they all have to live up to."
De Weever said he was happy with the offer SBRM had made to the workers and he was hoping the matter would be wrapped up amicably.
"When I first met with Thompson he indicated that he would be willing to accept this offer. I am hopeful that this can be resolved in a timely manner and I look forward to a timely and happy ending for all."
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