~Says WIFOL's claims not justified~

PHILIPSBURG--Labour and Social Affairs Minister Cornelius de Weever says allegations made by Workers Institute for Organised Labour (WIFOL) that government has violated certain International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions are not justified.

The Minister was at the time reacting to threats made by WIFOL President Theophilus Thompson that the union would file a complaint to the ILO against the government of St. Maarten for violating certain ILO conventions.

In a press release issued on Friday, De Weever said Thompson had stated he would make an official complaint with the ILO against the St. Maarten Government for violating certain ILO Conventions, due to the ongoing labour dispute regarding the former Pelican Resort workers.

"The government of St. Maarten never undertook, encouraged or sanctioned any action justifying the claim made by Mr. Thompson. The laws governing St. Maarten and policies of government guarantee freedom of association and conform to ILO Convention 87, which guarantees core labour standards to all workers," De Weever said in the press release. "The claims made by Thompson are not justified."

De Weever said article 3 Sub 2 of Convention N0. 87 states, "The public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof.

"In no way have the rights of the workers and that of WIFOL been violated as far as this Convention is concerned. The Constitution of St. Maarten also promotes Freedom of Association. In article 12 it states "The right of association is recognised. This right may be restricted under national ordinance in the interest of public order," the Minister said in the release, issued by his press secretary Lorrain Scot.

"Even though ILO Conventions 98, 154 and 181 are not applicable to St. Maarten, the laws and policies of the government respect and promote the rights of said conventions, as stipulated in the constitution of the ILO."

Thompson had said in a recently issued press release that St. Maarten was violating Conventions 87, 98, 154 and 181; C87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the right to Organize Convention, 1948; C98 Right to organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949; C154 Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981; C181 Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997.

According to Thompson, the Kingdom of the Netherlands had ratified many conventions. It was therefore up to the then Netherlands Antilles to decide which conventions they would make applicable to them. Conventions 98, 154 and 181 were not made applicable by the Netherlands Antilles and are therefore not applicable to St. Maarten.

Convention N0.87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise is applicable to St. Maarten. This Convention sets out the core framework of protection for the fundamental rights, which are union rights, such as the right to join a trade union and the right to organize trade union activities.

"WIFOL from the very beginning was representing the workers of the former Pelican Resort. WIFOL as a member of the Chamber of Labour Unions [in ed.] St. Maarten has had the freedom and the right to be established and to represent workers. The workers were free to join an organisation of their own choosing and to elect their representatives in full freedom as stated in Convention N0.87," it was stated in the release.