SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Unified Resilience Sint Maarten Movement (URSM) candidate, Richinel Brug, submits Risk-allowance law initiative to the Minister of General Affairs.
“It is with great honor and excitement that I submit this Risk-allowance draft law initiative. For years I have seen firsthand what my fellow law enforcement colleagues have had to go through, while not being (financially) compensated nor appreciated for their service.”
“The Risk-allowance law initiative would not only bolster the benefits of our current civil servants who are considered Frontline Workers, it would also add additional value to the profession itself. This initiative would not only be applicable to personnel in the Justice chain, but also to the hardworking men and women at the Fire Department, the Ambulance department, our civil servants who are nurses, our security guards, and any other civil servant whose function adds additional risk to their life or their ability to continue to provide for their families.”
“Initially my legal team and I were focusing on a Risk-allowance law proposal specifically for the Justice workers. However, I spoke to a number of civil servants outside of the Justice chain who at one point or the other were injured on the job. Some were even informed by the sitting Governments at that time, that the process to reduce their salaries and eventually fully terminate it, had initiated. This, while these hardworking civil servants were injured on the job while trying to save lives of others and were awaiting to be flown abroad to receive medical assistance, as Sint Maarten did not (still does not) provide the care they required. After hearing these stories, I made it a point to ensure this draft law initiative is written in such a way that all civil servants who put their lives or the bread of their families on the line to serve our people, would be able to receive this allowance.”
“This law initiative is written in such a way that the Minister of General affairs (via National decree containing general measures) can determine which professions within Government can fall under this list based on specific criteria. Had this Risk-allowance initiative been implemented prior to the Pandemic, all cleaners who were civil servants then, would have fallen in this category, as our cleaners were the ones tasked with ensuring our buildings were properly cleaned and deemed safe, for us regular civil servants to be able to go back to work. In doing so, the cleaners put their lives at risk to ensure we could go back to work in a safe environment.”
The number seven candidate on the URSM slate also submitted his law initiative to the current President of the Windward Island Chamber of Labor Unions (WICLU), considering that this Risk-allowance law initiative touches civil servants represented by a number of unions in their respective sectors.
“I am once again expressing my sincere gratitude to my colleague men and women who put their lives and their priorities on the backburner every single day. You do not only believe in the motto country above self, but you actually practice it. As said before: you should be seen as (S)Heroes: as examples for our children. When our students think about what they would like to become when they grow up, I would want them to proudly consider becoming a Fireman or -woman, a Police officer, an Ambulance worker, etc.”
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