PHILIPSBURG — The spat between TelEm CEO Kendal Dupersoy and SMCU-leader Ludson Evers has calmed down a bit after Dupersoy retracted the first paragraph of a letter he sent to the union that began with the sarcastic remark: “Do you like playing the victim?”
Related article: Relationship between TelEm and union deteriorates
Parties met with labor mediator Marcelina Loblak in a vain attempt to find common ground.
“The position of management was not to touch salaries of employees and that the payments the unions are demanding will lead to disastrous results for the employees,” Dupersoy told StMaartenNews.com after the meeting. “The unions disagreed and we could not come to any amicable solution.”
TelEm’s management finds itself between a rock and a hard place. In the interview, StMaartenNews.com pointed out that we don’t see how the government can enforce a 12.5 percent cut in the private sector sphere when employees have agreements, contracts and even collective labor agreements governing their labor agreements.
The St. Maarten Communication Union (SMCU) insisted that there is a way to continue with the payment of profit sharing bonuses and still cut 12.5 percent without touching salaries. “I proposed to send the personnel budget information to the union so that they can come up with a proposal to management. The union requested two weeks for that. Management adjusted the first letter (Editor’s note: the one of February 12, the so-called “ghetto-letter”) to make clear that it was only a proposal and not an instruction. It was not intended for employees but a jumping off point for negotiations.”
Dupersoy said that “the ball is in the union’s court now” and that once they have a proposal there is an opportunity to compare it with management’s proposal and find middle ground, “As long as this does not affect the monthly salaries of our employees. We are waiting for the proposal and we are not paying out any of the benefits until we have the explanatory notes of the law.”
“I am looking at all the numbers and the effect measures would have on our employees. We have a non-compliant union because these people are also employees. That clouds their judgment about the long term effects. They have a personal interest in getting paid as much as possible.” Dupersoy concluded.
In the meantime, a new letter has been sent to the SMCU union dated February 18, 2021, which will serve as the basis for the negotiations moving forward.
