That Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Veronica Jansen-Webster (URSM) was asked about a four-day work week (see Friday/Saturday edition) by her predecessor and now Member of Parliament (MP) Omar Ottley (UP) is not strange. Discussions on this topic are ongoing primarily in Western Europe.
What the current opposition leader must keep in mind, is that most salaries in St. Maarten get paid monthly. They are often based on eight hours per day or 40 weekly.
If reducing the number of working days means fewer hours, that will be reflected in the pay-cheque. In other words, unless employers pay them more per hour, people who work fewer hours will also earn less.
In the Netherlands, for example, wages are at a level where people tend to feel they can do with a bit less. However, that is not a prevalent scenario locally, taking into account the high cost-of-living and particularly rent.
Except for the semi-public, insurance and banking sector, many private businesses especially in the hospitality and service industry also have six-day work weeks. Going to just four would be an extra and likely financially unfeasible step for them.
The minister said the idea implies having to amend several legal obligations that “provide basic occupational safety and health requirements such as sickness insurance and vacation, to name a few.” Already burdened funds managed by the Social Insurance Bank SVB are to be considered as well.
One of the benefits would be to offer available jobs to more persons, but Jansen-Brewster pointed out that “all indications are that we have a shortage of qualified workers in the labour market already and this would mean that we need more workers to fill the positions.” She added that further research would be needed to form an informed opinion.
Realistically speaking, it does not appear a fit for St. Maarten’s tourism economy, certainly while still recovering from the hurricanes of September 2017 and the COVID-19 crisis. For the moment, this seems like a can of worms best left unopened.
