THE TRANSFER OF PERSONEL WORKING IN SINT MAARTEN AT SVB AND BZV TO THE NEW PUBLIC ENTITY TO EXECUTE SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE IN COUNTRY SINT MAARTEN
Considering
I. The agreement of December 8, 2007 signed by the government of Sint Maarten concerning the transfer of personnel from the Central government and the Island Government to the new public entities for Country Sint Maarten
1. That as a consequence of the process of constitutional changes the country of the Netherlands Antilles will stop to exist and Curacao and Sint Maarten as new entities will get the status of country within the Kingdom (…),
2. That it is from eminent importance to have a smooth transition of the personnel from the Central government and the island territories to the new entities Country Curacao, Country Sint Maarten (…)
3. That based upon the treaties applicable for the Netherlands Antilles, that is the European Human Rights Convention (EHRC), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR), and the ILO Conventions 149 and 151, in the transition process the personnel will be offered equal opportunities based upon the principles of equality, justice, reasonableness and fairness
4. That the government of Sint Maarten by signing this document has committed itself to uphold some very honorable and valuable points of departure with respect to the transition of the personnel working for the public entities of the country of the Netherlands Antilles and the public entities of the island territories of Curacao, Sint Maarten, (…) such as are:
a. That to realize the new public entities of Country Sint Maarten, (…) the Country of the Netherlands Antilles and the Island Territory of Sint Maarten will cooperate intensively in the preparation and implementation of the transition of the personnel
b. That the government of Saint Maarten has committed itself to realize on the starting date of the new country status of Saint Maarten that the civil servants who at that moment are working for entities (from the Central and island government) will enter the civil service of the new country Sint Maarten and the new public entities on the island where they are working. This in taken into consideration the type and the duration of the working relationship.
II.
That the personnel of SVB and BZV working in Saint Maarten are workers of public entities executing legislation from respectively the central government and the island government of Sint Maarten concerning social security and social health insurances in particular (some for 38 years)
1. That the executive council of Sint Maarten in preparation of country status in principle has decided to set up a new public entity for the execution of the national health insurance for Sint Maarten and the government still has to decide how to structure the execution of other social security legislation in Country Sint Maarten
2. That the government of Curacao already has decided to have the social security for Country Curacao executed by a new public entity by integrating the workers and the facilities from the public entities BZV and SVB in Curacao,
3. That the workers of SVB working in Curacao all maintain their accumulated rights and their job status in the new entity for country Curacao
4. That the workers of BZV working in Curacao already have been offered contracts to be guaranteed their accumulated rights in the new integrated SVB-BZV entity for Country Curacao
5. That the workers of BZV working in St Maarten and the workers of SVB working in Sint Maarten until the day of today have not been given these guarantees
6. That the workers of SVB and BZV in their letter to the government of Saint Maarten of November 5th 2009 consequently have requested from the island government of Saint Maarten to guarantee them the same treatment in the transfer to the new public entity to execute social security legislation in country Sint Maarten including the National Health Insurance for Country Sint Maarten, as government has guaranteed the civil servants working in Sint Maarten from the central and island government public entities, and as their colleagues in Curacao are getting now from the government of Curacao in the transfer to the new public entity (integrated SVB-BZV) to execute social security and social health insurance in Curacao.
III. That the government of Sint Maarten has drafted a Social Statute and Migration plan in consultation with the unions that participate in the CGOA which adress
· the scope and duration
· Guarantees for the legal status acquired
· Placement procedure. All civil service personnel entitled to that (from the Central and island government) will get ultimately three months before the date of transition an offer
· Objection and appeal procedures
· Flanking policy
· Education, formation and training
· The Consultation structure to involve unions
1. That the spirit of the principles and regulations agreed upon in the Social Statute can also be applied to the workers from the SVB and BZV working in Saint Maarten
2. That the government of Saint Maarten and the new entities Country Saint Maarten, and Country Curacao, have recognized all legal status claims and labor conditions of the island civil servants and the legal status claims of the former island territory civil servants. (…)
3. That the workers of the public entities SVB and BZV working in Sint Maarten, like the civil servants from the central and island government from St Maarten, and their colleagues of SVB and BZV working in Curacao, are entitled to the same recognition of all their legal claims and labor conditions negotiated by the ABVO union with their respective management
IV. That all entities have agreed upon a joint communication trajectory for the personnel per island with the country of the Netherlands Antilles unimpeded their own responsibility
1. The workers of the SVB and the BZV working in Sint Maarten have not been included yet in this communication trajectory.
2. The ABVO – union being the representative of the SVB and BZV workers with a collective labor agreement signed with the management of both public entities, only last month October has been recognized by the island government of Saint Maarten as a stakeholder in the Advisory Committee for the National Health Insurance for Country St Maarten which has an official duration of 6 weeks
3. It is imperative to involve the knowledge and the social security experience of SVB- and BZV-workers and their union ABVO throughout the preparation and implementation process of the National Health Insurance for Country Saint Maarten, and in the transfer of personnel in particular.
V. That the workers of SVB and BZV working in Saint Maarten, irrespective the outcome of the meeting from the Executive Council with the workers of SVB and BZV from November 13th 2009 maintain the right to ensure with all legal means possible a fair and just implementation of the transfer to the new public entity and to guarantee their job security, their income, their career perspectives, their pension, etc.
On behalf of the workers from SVB and BZV
Represented by the ABVO-union
_________________
Drs Raymond Jessurun
ABVO-member in the Advisory Committee of the
National Health Insurance for Country Sint Maarten