Claire Elshot and Raymond Jessurun.
PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Consumers Coalition said many employed persons have yet to receive their salaries from their employers and also questioned the income support proposed by government.
“Many workers have [filed – Ed.] complaints with us (the coalition) that they have not received their full salary for March and April. We have assisted workers in need for income support and for food, to fill in the online social assessment form,” said the coalition.
The coalition said many of these persons who have filed complaints with the association applied for income support as well as for food provision by government. They stated that these persons are still awaiting this assistance.
According to the Consumers Coalition, 725 businesses and companies have filed for payroll support covering 8,527 employees. “There are approximately 23,000 workers employed in the formal sector. If 8,527 workers are covered, that is only 37 per cent of all workers in the formal economy,” they added.
The coalition questioned if all of the 8,527 workers received their complete March and April salaries. “What happened to the other 14,500 workers in the formal economy? If their employers did not file for payroll support, did they get their salaries paid in full,” the coalition asked. “How many of the 23,000 workers in the formal sector have not received their full salary at the end of March and the end of April?”
The status of the more than 10,600 “inactive persons” within the labour force was also questioned. These persons are those who are unofficially considered to be unemployed within the Labour Force Survey of 2018. “Unemployed was considered everyone in the last two weeks prior to the survey, actively looking for a job. (Many) of these so called “inactive persons” were active in the informal sector of the economy, offering their labour or their services to make a dollar,” the coalition added. Further questioning just how many persons are receiving social allowance from government.
The Consumers Coalition said the basic income of NAf. 1,150 proposed by government for sole proprietors, taxi and bus drivers, etc. as a maximum social allowance for persons needing social assistance is a discriminatory income support when compared to that of the Netherlands. “In this part of the kingdom what is a decent social allowance?” the coalition asked.
They said based on research conducted by the National Institute for Budgetary Information NIBUD in Bonaire in 2013, the amount an individual needs to earn to not live in poverty was at least US $1,500.
“With the cost of living in St .Maarten being much higher than in Bonaire, applying a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) of the last decade, a decent social allowance should be at least US $1,850 a month per person,” the coalition added.
“As the COVID-19 budget of St. Maarten has estimated what is needed based on the basic income of NAf. 1,150 a month per person, a recalculation must be done with at least US $1,850 a month per person in mind so that an equitable social protection floor in the kingdom is observed,” the coalition added.
The Consumers Coalition insisted that this recalculation should be presented to the kingdom government for co-financing in order to guarantee equal social protection for every citizen in the kingdom.
