PHILIPSBURG--In a bid to reverse what it considers to be a judicial error, attorneys of Workers Institute for Organised Labour (WIFOL) asked the judge in the Court of First Instance on Wednesday to prevent management of Simpson Bay Resort Management Company BV (SBRMC) and Royal Resort (RR) Management Ltd. from effectuating the verdict of the Court of Appeals on November 7.
Backed by WIFOL president Theophilus Thompson and some 50 workers, all clad in white union T-shirts, in and outside the Courthouse, attorneys-at-law Maarten Le Poole and Wim van Sambeek maintained that the Appeals Court's verdict was erroneous. Minister of Health, Labour and Social Affairs Cornelius de Weever was also among their audience.
In the contested ruling, the three judges of the Court of Appeals had declared null and void the February 8 ruling in which the Court of First Instance had ordered Simpson Bay Resort (former Pelican Resort Club) to continue paying salaries to 182 workers it had been attempting to dismiss. The company also was ordered to adhere to regulations stipulated in the collective labour agreement (CLA) with WIFOL.
The Appeals Court overturned this ruling, which meant SBRMC no longer would be obligated to pay salaries to the 182 employees.
Even though the Appeals Court judges admitted they had been incorrect in stating that WIFOL's lawyers had not submitted legal documents within the required timeframe, this did not lead to a different judgement, because in the appeal WIFOL would have referred to its position in the Court of First Instance.
WIFOL's lawyers stated Wednesday that this was incorrect, because they had been prevented from filing new documents due to the issue with the correct timeframe.
Attorney Le Poole said that although this "blooper" had been rectified, the consequences thereof had not been remedied. He said this had led the Appeals Court to not take vital documents into consideration, which would be in violation of the right to hear both sides, and against the right to a fair trial. "The reasoning and conclusion" of the Appeals Court were both "incorrect," Le Poole said.
In the meantime, WIFOL has appealed the ruling with the High Court in The Hague, but this does not suspend the workings of the Appeals Court ruling. Le Poole said the High Court ruling would be merely "fodder" for jurists.
More important would be the workers' interests ? to not be forced to choose considerably less favourable labour conditions with their new employer, a situation that would be based on a "flawed" Appeals Court judgement, according to WIFOL.
Attorney Jairo Bloem stated on behalf of SBRMC and RR that the Appeals Court ruling did not contain any mistakes and that it had been lawfully and unquestionably established that SBRMC was no longer deemed to be unified with the former Pelican Resort Club Management Company NV (PRCMC) and as such was not responsible for the workers' labour arrangements and conditions as agreed with PRCMC.
Bloem said it was of importance to SBRMC to put the ruling into effect, because it was currently paying US $60,000 per month to 49 workers who had been laid off since January 26.
The resort would further be wrestling with a budget deficit of some US $4.5 million, which had forced it to demand additional maintenance fees from its timeshare members and to obtain a US $3 million loan to finance operations until the end of the year.
Bloem said the company had a serious "liquidity problem" that made it "simply impossible" to continue paying persons who did not have contracts with SBRMC.
He said a continuation of this situation could have grave consequences for the timeshare industry and the macro-economic situation in St. Maarten.
Judge Ren� van Veen said he would give his decision by the end of next week.
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