PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto says the WICSU/PSU union were informed over the weekend that the GOA was notified by letter on December 28, 2010 about the issue of Cost of Living and the new indexation of the 2011 salary scales.
The Minister’s letter is in response to the aforementioned union’s letter of January 17, 2011.
Minister Shigemoto has also taken note of a meeting that the WICSU/PSU has called with civil servants for Monday, January 24 at 6.00pm, where one of the issues mentioned in the Minster’s letter to the union will come up for discussion.
The Honourable Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto informed the union that the Council of Ministers has not approved any austerity measures to balance the 2011 budget having to do with the vacation allowance.
"My office and staff of the Ministry of Finance are available to provide factual information and clarity to issues of concern to civil servants. As a country we are going through challenging times and I don’t believe in creating unnecessary worry amongst members of the civil servants corps based on in-correct information," the Minister said on Monday.
Minister Shigemoto added that the vacation allowance was never considered as a cost cutting measure, however, since the WICSU is promoting it as a measure, perhaps it should be considered.