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Published On: Thu, Feb 15th, 2018

Civil code amendment “not a watered-down version”

Philipsburg Parliament of Sint Maarten

PHILIPSBURG – The draft ordinance containing amendments related to labor contracts to the civil code is not “a watered down version of an initiative-law submitted to parliament in the past,” President of parliament MP Sarah Wescot-Williams said on Wednesday.

When parliament was ready to handle to ordinance last Friday, members of the opposition were in the building but they did not sign in to the meeting. Because there was no quorum, the meeting had to be postponed.

“What I heard is that we were handling the initiative law of the National Alliance but because it was watered down the NA could not support it,’ Wescot-Williams said. “The ordinance reduces the time for short-term contracts to two years.”

According to Wescot-Williams the National Alliance initiative law came with a permit system to curtail short-term labor contracts. “But the current amendment is part of a larger approach to the labor market.”

Wescot-Williams said that there are currently more pressing matters for the government to deal with, like securing jobs for local people.