The Ministry of VSA with the assistance of the Ministry of VROMI are currently executing an awareness campaign which aims to stimulate the public’s knowledge and ensure a safe and healthy workplace, thereby familiarizing and preparing the businesses and the public in general for future OSH adherence. This campaign effort is being supported by the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), Windward Islands Civil Servants Union / Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU), Chamber of Commerce & Industry (COCI) and the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) and will utilize two articles of the current safety ordinances which will be specifically promoted and enforced within the country, thereby introducing increased awareness and inspections on the matter.
"I applaud the efforts by our Tripartite members to improve the working environment. This only illustrates that when we keep the worker central to our decisions and discussions we automatically improve the business environment," said Minister Cornelius De Weever.
The selected articles that will be focused on are: 1) The presence of first aid kits in ALL businesses (Veiligheidsbesluit I article 50) and 2) Hard hats and safety shoes being worn on ALL construction sites (Veiligheidsbesluit II article 39). The current legislation (article 5 "Veiligheidslandsverordening") gives the inspectors the authority to stop work from being performed. The director of a company who contravenes that command is committing a crime and can be punished with imprisonment of up to six (6) months or a maximum fine of two thousand ( 2000) guilders. In order to prevent this, employers should ensure compliance to, at minimum, the previously mentioned articles at all times.
If the general public has any further questions pertaining to OSH and the campaign, feel free to contact the Department of Labour at 54-23704 / 23702, the Department of Public Health at 54-22078, the Inspectorate of VSA at 54-23579 / 22059 / 2209 or the Inspectorate Department of VROMI at 54-24289. In addition, all current local legislation is available on the website http://www.sintmaartengov.org/Laws/Pages/SearchEngine.aspx. All international standards and recommendations can be found on http://www.ilo.org/safework/lang–en/index.htm