PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Omar Ottley told Members of Parliament (MPs) in the continuation of the Committee of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor of Parliament meeting on Friday that the legislation regulating short-term contracts is expected to go into effect October 1.
Ottley was present to provide Parliament with an update on the status of the amendment to the ordinance regulating short-term contracts. In his presentation he noted that the process for the amendment of the ordinance had started in 2011 with a proposal from National Alliance to have all permanent positions pre-defined by sector and businesses requiring short-term contracts to need permission from government.
Ottley said that in 2015 this proposal was deemed not feasible by the Social and Economic Council SER and a new proposal was drafted. The draft legislation was approved by Parliament in 2019.
Abuse of short-term contracts was defined by the minister as employers giving employees more than three consecutive fixed-term contracts. He said some employers further use loopholes in the legislation granting employees permanency by sending home their employees for three months and a day after their third contract and after this period they would be re-hired.
According to the current legislation, employees are deemed permanent after their second contract or if their contract has exceeded 24 months, but only if there were no gaps of more than three months between contracts.
Ottley told MPs his amendment roadmap. He said the ministry had carried out an online survey in 2021 gathering data from 222 employees and 40 employers regarding the abuse of short-term contracts and the challenges with the legislation.
Ottley said a workgroup had been put in place this year to finalise the proposal. He told MPs that the workgroup will carry out in-depth discussions with its social partners. In 2023 the ministry will commence the legislative process and Ottley said he hoped for ratification by 2024.
Ottley said that in the new proposal the objective of the ministry is to reintroduce Article 614A which is to regulate when a short-term labour contract can be used.
The first paragraph of this article stipulates that if an employer wants to hire an employee temporarily this can only be done on the basis of a written fixed-term employment contract. The second paragraph determines the circumstances under which a fixed-term employment contract may be entered.
The ministry also proposed a legal counsel project to strength the labour compliance and the Department of Labor Affairs, with a legal representative that will provide legal advice both employees and employers.
Also proposed were more stringent consequences too be implemented for violators, possible revoking of business licences for repeated violations and compensation for employees.
The ministry also proposes to adapt permanent contracts after three years of temporary. With this, employees will automatically receive a permanent contract if they have received multiple temporary contracts for a contractual period totalling three years/36 months with the same employer or for the same type of work with successive employers.
Ottley said that flexibility in the labour market is still the ministry’s main objective, while also ensuring security protection for the employees. He told MPs that the proposal he presented was not intended to create more stringent labour laws that hamper compliant businesses, nor would it completely tackle the abuse by employers.
“Flexibility within the labour market is still the main objective, while also ensuring security, protection for the employees. The intention is to not solely focus on legislative amendments to the civil code as it relates to short-term contracts,” said Ottley.
He said the ministry will embark on a campaign to inform employers and employees on the urgent reasons for dismissals.
