PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) will have to wait a little longer to discuss the St. Maarten Stimulus and Relief Plan (SSRP) and the conditions for liquidity support from the Netherlands. The urgent public plenary session on the topics has been postponed until further notice because trade union leaders and members showed up in front of the House of Parliament at the beginning of the meeting and demanded to speak with MPs.
The meeting was postponed at the request of Parliament Chairperson Rolando Brison.
Leaders and members of Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions (WICLU), Windward Islands Civil Servants Union/Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU), ABVO St. Maarten, Windward Islands Federation of Labour (WIFOL), Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU), and Committee of Civil Servants Unions (CCSU) showed up waving signs and placards in front of the House of Parliament in Philipsburg around 12:00pm and demanded to speak with MPs.
Brison, along with MPs Melissa Gumbs of Party for Progress (PFP), Claudius “Toontje” Buncamper of United St. Maarten Party (US Party) and Angelique Romou of National Alliance (NA), stood on the street outside the House of Parliament’s entrance while trade union leaders expressed their grievances.
In between the addresses of their leaders, trade union members could be heard chanting slogans, such as “Enough is enough.”
