Labor Policy

The New Labor Policy

Who is the genius that came up with that new labor policy? Now I must admit that I have not read the entire document so this is only a preliminary reaction to what was reported in the media.

Are they really saying that they will only sign documents for skilled workers? I might be wrong but aren’t most of the immigrants working in menial jobs where most St. Maarteners don’t want to work? Now I have always been against our young people only wanting to work in the casino or some administrative job. I think that we need to start getting involved in jobs that traditionally used to be local but has since evolved into foreign jobs.

Jobs like construction and maintenance, air-conditioning repair, house painting, etc. are all very lucrative careers but due to the lack of a Poly-technical school and other reasons, we no longer partake in these activities.

Now government is saying that no more labor permits will be signed for unskilled work but what are we to understand under unskilled? Is this limited to garbage pick-up only, or do we include casino dealers, or is this a skill? What about truck drivers, is that a skill?

The employment system on St. Martin is based on exploitation, most employers hire immigrants because they pay them below minimum wage, they don’t offer them any health insurance and in many cases the immigrant has to work up to 12 hours a day without the correct compensation.

This money saving exploitation along with many St. Martiners not wanting to work in the specific areas is the major issue to resolve. Sadly, I don’t see this labor policy achieving this goal.