TelEm management wants
to settle dispute out of court
PHILIPSBURG--The management of the TelEm Group of Companies wants to settle its dispute over the payment of cost-of-living adjustments to its employees out of court. St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) says it is willing to do so in keeping with its desire to work with the companies, not against them.
SMCU had initiated legal proceedings against the management of the TelEm Group over a dispute concerning the payment of cost-of-living adjustment for 2006.
The dispute began earlier this year when SMCU had asked that its members be paid a 2.3 per cent cost-of-living adjustment as indicated by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). However, TelEm management contended that workers should not receive anything, as the adjustment was 0.3 per cent. According to the company’s CLA, once the cost-of-living adjustment is more than two per cent workers will be paid.
SMCU President Ludson Evers said management had informed the union via letter earlier this week that it wanted to settle out of court. He said the union was willing to settle out of court, as its intention was to work with the company, not against it. Evers said this was a positive development, as the workers would now receive their money. He said the workers were likely to receive their adjustment retroactive to February 2006 as early as this April.
