Justice Minister plans to enforce the law and fine employers
PHILIPSBURG:— In reaction to the recent incident where an unregistered employee got injured while trying to escape from immigration offers, Minister of Labor Emil Lee announced on Wednesday that he has been following the comments and concerns shared on social media about the incident.
Minister Lee said he is actually supportive of the views given by members of the community one being that government should be more lenient with hard working people are victims of the system. The Minister further explained that whether or not persons are legally registered they are entitled to healthcare and pay-slips. Lee said that employers are obligated to ensure that their workers are legalized and that they must pay taxes and healthcare premiums for these employees.
The Minister said he considers the actions of the employers to be abusive without access to healthcare and having them living in constant fear. He also called on employees to ensure to get what they are entitled to. Lee said that since January 2016 to present some 81 applications were submitted for working permits for construction workers. He said of that amount only 8 applicants were rejected simply because their requests were filed by a job placement agency and the companies were not updated with their taxes. He made clear that the reason for the denial was based on the fact that the employer did not meet the requirements such as paying their taxes.
Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman also shared his sentiments on the matter at hand. Minister Boasman said that very often he is asked to sign off on deportation order and each time he has to do that he also has to think about the consequences employers must face. Boasman said that he has no intention of penalizing the unregistered workers alone and not the real culprits which are employers that are hiring undocumented workers and not living up to their responsibilities.
Source: St. Martin News Network
Labor and Justice Ministers warns employers to regulate their employee’s legal status.
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