Union, TelEm wrangle about interpretation of social plan

~ TelEm goes to court for resolution ~

PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) and TelEm management are at loggerheads over the interpretation of a clause in the company?s social plan that deals with the voluntary redundancy of workers in the company?s ongoing restructuring process.

  Union President Ludson Evers said the clause was fairly straightforward, but management was trying to push through a different interpretation as a delaying tactic.

  Evers said the clause in question ?Article 9 ? stated that workers should be given the right to voluntary leave before the company embarks on its restructuring process. However, he said TelEm official Helma Etnel claimed this was not how the clause should be interpreted and refused to open up voluntary leave before starting the restructuring process.

  Evers brought the matter to the attention of the media at a joint press conference with other unions on Wednesday. He told The Daily Herald on Thursday that he had received communication from Etnel that the company would be heading to court to resolve the matter.

  Evers said this was a clear case of a delaying tactic on the part of management. ?It is clearly indicated in article 9 of our social plan for restructuring that before establishing the redundancy of employees, the employer will create the opportunity for a worker to voluntarily terminate his or her employment and she [Etnel, ed.] is running away from this. I don?t understand how she has a different interpretation of voluntary leave.?

  The union plans to meet with its members on this latest development in the restructuring of the company, which has been ongoing since 2005.

  ?From there we will know what actions to take against the company, but it is clearly a delaying tactic. The restructuring started in 2005 and here in 2011, when we are finishing, Etnel has a different interpretation to an agreement signed on June 23, 2010,? Evers said.

  Evers had told reporters at Wednesday?s press conference that the clause had been inserted in the social plan so that workers such as those nearing retirement or those who wanted to leave, possibly to go into business with the restructured TelEm or otherwise, could do so.

  Workers who go on voluntary leave will be entitled to 70 per cent of their salaries for two years and medical insurance for a year. This money, Evers said, can be used by the workers to establish themselves as entrepreneurs or otherwise. 

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/23086-union-telem-wrangle-about-interpretation-of-social-plan-.html

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