Minister Duncan meets with Unions; Meeting first of several planned about Law Enforcement Issues

Upon request from the unions NAPB, ABVO and WICSU/PSU in a letter dated February 26, 2013, Minister of Justice Hon. Roland Duncan, began talks regarding the legal position of Police Officers.

The Minister started the meeting by explaining to the union representatives that he chose not to respond to articles published in the newspapers during the month of February, 2013. Rather, he decided to wait until he met with the unions, because he does not manage his ministry via the media.

Minister Duncan further explained that, the decree regulating the legal position of Police Officers referred to in newspaper articles was prepared in the constitutional process before 10-10-10 and similar to the one in Curacao.

 

In light of the overall dissatisfaction with the decree, Minister Duncan decided not to execute it, but rather appointed the legal specialist working in his cabinet, Knoppel, to revise it together with the police management. After the revision was completed, a copy of the new draft was sent to the unions by the legal specialist for their input.

The meeting of March 6, 2013, was the first of a number of meetings to be held until the matter of the legal positions of St. Maarten’s police is resolved.

Among the topics discussed were: the matrix plan (Inrichtingsplan), salary scales, police structure, job evaluations and functions for the Police Organizations of Country St. Maarten.

The Minister and the unions agreed that in order to expedite matters, the follow up meetings to discuss and resolve the technicalities involved will be conducted among the unions, the legal specialist of the cabinet, and a member of the ministry’s staff bureau.

If needed, the police management will also be involved in the discussions. Upon completion of this process, Minister Duncan will meet again with all parties involved to finalize documents and begin procedures to have it ratified.