Retroactive payments to justice personnel amount to almost $25 million

PHILIPSBURG — Retroactive payments to personnel of the justice ministry are going to cost the government 44,588,500 guilders ($24.9 million) it appears from a press release issued by the ministry. Making these payments over a five-year period is not feasible, so the ministry reached a agreement with labor unions in July to extend this period to ten years.

The ministry will have to reserve 4 to 6 million guilders ($2.2 to $3.35 million) in its budget for a period of seven to ten years.

Minister Richardson provided this information in a press release after a scheduled meeting of the Justice Committee of parliament did not take place due to a lack of quorum.

The function book for the justice departments was completed and signed by the minister and (now former) Governor Holiday on December 21, 2021.

The function book is still awaiting enactment by national decree which is, according to the press release “contingent upon the upcoming approval of a budget amendment by the parliament, scheduled for presentation by Minister of Finance Ardwell Irion in the coming weeks.”

The police law and the new salary scales must be formalized alongside the function book.

In December 2022, it became apparent that the implementation of the function book required a complete debt calculation. This was done by the ministry’s financial controllers department headed by Saskia Thomas-Salomons. The function book affects the income of 760 active and inactive employees.

The calculations and the placement process will be reviewed by SOAB and culminate in a findings report at the end of the placement procedure.

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Related links:
Function book saga>>>
Minister of Justice Provides Update on Function Book Enactment, Police Law, and Financial Obligations to Justice Personnel
MP Heyliger-Marten criticizes NA for not providing quorum to Justice Committee meeting