SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) – The St. Maarten Anti-Poverty Platform and the Consumers Coalition on Thursday during a press conference brought forward a number of issues. “The Daily Herald informed two days ago that the St. Maarten Support Relief Plan (SSRP) was sent to Members of Parliament on Monday for their approval.
“The main aim of this stimulus plan is to avoid layoffs and prevent companies from going belly-up during the current coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. So a key component of the plan is government’s plan to provide a payroll subsidy to the “most affected” businesses to cover up to 80 per cent of their workers’ salaries for a three-month period. The plan was prepared with input from the Emergency Support Function’s (EFS) and their relevant teams and task forces.
“Two weeks ago, as Anti-Poverty Platform we compared and questioned the content of the Sint Maarten stimulus plan that was leaked, with measures proposed by the government of the Netherlands for businesses in the Netherlands, in Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.
“Last week on April 8, on the government’s website, a three-month 80% compensation for loss of wages was announced for businesses who apply for this payroll support program. The employer organizations SHTA, SMTA, SMMTA and IMA in the month of February demanded a 90% pay roll subsidy for all employers (including government and NGO’s) for the duration of 6 months.
“The employer organizations were asking the same 90% compensation as the Dutch government presented for the businesses in the Netherlands and in the BES-islands affected by the Corona Virus pandemic! But the Dutch measure is not only a three-month 90% compensation for loss of wages, it is also a 90% compensation for income due. And employees who have already lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus can qualify for this scheme too.
“If the Minister of Finance and the government of St Maarten want to discriminate our own businesses by proposing an 80% payroll compensation instead of a 90% compensation as the government of the Netherlands arranged, what will the Members of Parliament decide next week? Will our local representatives in Parliament also decide to approve that our government can discriminate the local businesses?
“We hereby publicly appeal to the 15 members of Parliament to amend the 80% compensation for the payroll support program and make it a 90% payroll support program, just as all businesses in the Netherlands and in the BES-islands will be compensated! If the plan will be submitted for financing by the Kingdom government, then based on article 43 sub 2 of the Charter of the Kingdom the Kingdom government has to guarantee that the businesses in all parts of the Kingdom must be equally treated and compensated for the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic! Parliament should instruct government to defend this economic right of the businesses in St Maarten to be treated equally as the businesses in the Netherlands and in the BES-islands!”
Source: Souliga Newsday https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com-k2&view=item&id=30953:anti-poverty-consumers-coalition-questions-whether-parliament-will-accept-unequal-treatment&Itemid=504
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