Representatives of the WYCCF and CBV boards pose for a photograph with WYCCF staff during the signing.
JOHNS ESTATE--The White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF) signed a new three-year collective labour agreement (CLA) with the Curaçao Federation of Workers in Nursing and Health Care Institutions CBV union board for all WYCCF employees.
As the current CLA is expiring at the end of May, CBV and WYCCF started negotiations early to ensure the process would be completed on time.
“With several important wishes of the employees on the table and limited budgets available, the negotiations were important to ensure that improvements can be sustained for the duration of the entire CLA term,” said WYCCF on Wednesday.
The WYCCF is a healthcare foundation that offers client-centred quality care in three core departments: the St. Martin’s Home, the Sister Basilia Center and district nursing.
Within these departments, the foundation operates 11 different care products in St. Maarten: nursing home care, elderly care, day care services for clients with a psycho-geriatric condition, rehabilitation services, a day activity centre for clients with an intellectual disability, the residence and guided living units for those same clients, district nursing, maternity care and home care. The WYCCF has grown its services over the years and recently opened the first hospice on St. Maarten, the 11th care product available to all residents of the Dutch side.
During the CLA negotiations, the CBV union and WYCCF secured a one-time salary increase as of June 1, followed by yearly increases of the salary scales on January 1. The vacation allowance will also be increased to eight per cent and irregular shifts will be compensated with a higher fixed amount per shift.
WYCCF said this CLA will include a bonus for each employee with zero days absent on sick leave within a year. With this, the WYCCF aims to reduce incidental sick leave and increase the well-being of all staff members.
During the festive signing ceremony witnessed by WYCCF staff, the boards of the CBV union and the WYCCF congratulated each other on the positive outcome of the negotiations. Appreciation for continued years of great collaboration was expressed, with the wish to continue together for years to come and to offer the best labour conditions possible.
