On Tuesday the 8th of November, Minister of Public Health, Social Development, Mr. Emil Lee hosted his first seminar since taking office. Over 30 representatives comprising of representatives from the various labor unions, private sector, and Government apparatus based on the Tripartite Committee were in attendance.
Minister Lee has always been fascinated Singapore and took the opportunity to invite consultant, Mr. Christopher Khoo who was on a business trip in Anguilla to give a presentation on the Singapore Model. Mr. Khoo provided a wealth of information on Singapore’s Tourism sector, Labor Market, Health Care, Pension Plan, Economy, Education System, Tax Structure, Political System, and Waste Management model. Attendees found the seminar to be highly inspirational and it created momentum for a follow up meeting to discuss the way forward as it pertains to labor related matters on Sint Maarten.
Many ideas were shared that will be revised during the follow up meeting and adapted to Sint Maarten. Minister Lee stated in an invited press statement on Tuesday, that he hopes this seminar will be a stimulus for everyone in the room to come together and begin our discussion. He emphasized the importance of working towards building a win-win-win consensus for all those present which will ultimately benefit the community of Sint Maarten at large, ensuring Sint Maarten lives up to its fullest potential. Minister Lee concluded by stating we need to be bold, creative, willing to learn from other countries and not re-invent the wheel, and join forces.