Approval of the law to limit top incomes at government-owned or -subsidised entities by Parliament (see Tuesday paper) means St. Maarten is meeting another condition set for Dutch COVID-19 liquidity support received over the past two years. In addition, it allows current discussions with the Kingdom Council of Ministers RMR on phasing out the related 12.5% employee benefits cut in the (semi-)public sector – starting with last June’s restoring of the suspended 6% vacation allowance – to continue.
Proposed amendments to the draft bill should not be an issue and remain in line with similar adjustments by Curaçao and Aruba. A transition period of five instead of two years can be considered reasonable.
The latter does create a longer spell during which significant savings won’t be realised on anybody already in existing functions, only for newcomers. However, this is also a matter of principle.
Earning 130% of what Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs makes seems more than enough when taxpayers’ funds are involved, especially now that it will be based on her original annual salary rather than the current one reduced by 20% due to the socioeconomic crisis. What many of the persons involved reportedly get paid is often excessive and sometimes downright ridiculous.
The Netherlands too faced much resistance when introducing its own “Balkenende Norm” version of this restructuring measure that was ultimately termed a success. There is no reason to expect any different in the three Caribbean countries.
