(๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ: ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ-๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ถ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ.)
GREAT BAY--It was not a good showing for the NAPB union in Parliament on Thursday. The Committee of Justice of Parliament to meet with the Nationaal Algemene Politiebond (NAPB) for discussion regarding pressing justice-related concerns currently affecting its membership and the broader public service environment
The NAPB was unprepared for the meeting and delivered what at times was an incoherent presentation with unclear responses to questions from Members of Parliament, leading to an earlier than expected adjournment.
Had it not been for the interjection of WICSU/PSU President Sharon Cangieter, who was present only to support the NAPB and not as a direct participant, the meeting might have been adjourned much earlier. After a brief adjournment, Cangieter was even designated to answer certain questions on behalf of NAPB members, despite not representing them.
She addressed some of the broader questions before handing the floor back to the NAPB board to respond to other points. The Vice-Chairman of the Committee, MP Lyndon Lewis, eventually adjourned the meeting until further notice and indicated that outstanding and additional questions and subsequent answers would be submitted in writing.
It could not be ascertained if MP's were clear on what they heard thus far, because the meeting never got back to the point where they could seek clarification and/or pose follow-up questions.
Among the key issues the NAPB raised were:
๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐: This was the most bewildering exchange of the day and is still not clear. Grace Scott of the NAPB explained that "when the union realized that many of its members were exposed to serious danger, often facing life-threatening situations such as being shot or otherwise injured on duty, and in those cases, when an officer died, their families were left without proper financial support, since the main provider was gone."
"This is what led us to push for insurance coverage to assist our colleaguesโ families in the event of their passing. At first, we had two types of insurance: one covering medical expenses and another specifically for life insurance. Initially, the coverage was limited, but later Nagico agreed to improve it. Under that agreement, families would receive 100% of the insured amount regardless of the cause of death, and 200% if the officer died in the line of duty. The policy value was NAf. 400,000 per person."
"However, government later considered this package too expensive. As a compromise, the union proposed a cost-sharing arrangement: government would pay part and members would contribute part. Eventually, it was agreed that each member would pay NAf. 25 while government would cover the rest. This is how the group life insurance came about, born from the need to make sure our colleaguesโ families would not be left without support if they died or were seriously injured in the line of duty."
๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ (๐๐๐ฌ): Many justice workers are still awaiting their formal placement decrees, despite the function book having been published in 2024. Errors in existing decrees, delays in batches, and irregular processes have caused frustration and demotivation among staff. MP's pointed out that the Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling has repeatedly informed Parliament that the LB's would be ready by the end of 2025 and question the communication between the Ministry and NAPB. To which NAPB indicated that a meeting was held earlier in the year and promised quarterly meetings have not been had. This explanation was not entirely clear however.
๐๐๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ฒ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ: The union highlighted ongoing concerns regarding retroactive salary payments dating back to October 10, 2010, as well as pending entitlements for retirees. They requested firm answers on payment timelines and guarantees that sufficient funds will be budgeted.
๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ: Concerns were also raised about mold at the police headquarters, lack of uniforms and materials for officers, and safety issues faced by immigration staff stationed at Princess Juliana International Airport, including poor lighting and insufficient security after a recent incident involving a burned vehicle.
The meeting was adjourned with many questions unanswered and clarity needed on most.
โ
https://tribune-site.webflow.io//articles/napb-union-was-unprepared-for-meeting-with-parliament-insurance-and-lbs-main-concerns
