Aruban Unions Bring lawsuit Against Oduber Cabinet … “No work No pay.” Sounds Like No Body, No Crime

No work, no pay … No body, no crime: both damaging to Aruba Tourism.

The public employee strike has gone on for weeks and continues in Aruba with no end in sight. Civil servants have blocked the road along the Government Building that caused chaos and huge traffic jams.  They have also blocked the access road to the harbor, at the office of Aruba Port Authority. Now, the civil servant unions united in SDA have instituted a lawsuit against the Oduber-cabinet where the government is not paying salaries based on the principle ‘no work no pay’.

ORANJESTAD – The civil servant unions united in SDA have instituted a lawsuit against the Oduber-cabinet.  The lawsuit is to prevent the striking civil servants from not being paid this month.  According to lawyer Edwin Duijneveld that represents the unions, the government is not allowed to withhold salaries based on just the principle ‘no work no pay’. (AMIGOE: 4/18/2008)

Doesn’t this sound hauntingly similar to “no body, no crime” of which the Aruban people sat on their hands and did not hold their police or government for answers into the disappearance and justice for Natalee Holloway?

What is further mind boggling is the abject ignorance of a strike for higher wages while the unions are in the process of further destroying Aruba’s economy and providing a lasting memory for those currently vacationing there. One where they will never come back again due to the “troubling” and “unstable situation” they were presented with while supposedly being on vacation.

Ahata-director Rob Smith said that the organizations cannot just sit still and let all this happen; the labour conflict is already damaging the Aruban economy.

The minister doesn’t understand why the social partners are just now taking actions, while they have been well informed of the situation and could have anticipated damages for the Aruban economy.

“With this invitation they want the government to handle on an irresponsible manner for Aruba and agree with what the unions are asking.  That has never happened before in the history of Aruba.” 

Unions take the Aruban government to court (Amigoe: 4/18/2008)

ORANJESTAD – The civil servant unions united in SDA have instituted a lawsuit against the Oduber-cabinet.  The lawsuit is to prevent the striking civil servants from not being paid this month.  According to lawyer Edwin Duijneveld that represents the unions, the government is not allowed to withhold salaries based on just the principle ‘no work no pay’.

The strike has been going on for weeks now.  The civil servants blocked the road along the Government Building yesterday morning and caused huge chaos in traffic.  This morning, they blocked the access road to the harbour, at the office of Aruba Port Authority.  At the airport and the schools, the employees are still on strike.

NEGOTIATION TABLE

Representatives of Ahata, ATIA, and the Chamber of Commerce conducted an unexpected press conference yesterday to overcome the deadlock in the labour dispute between the government and the unions.  Ahata-director Rob Smith said that the organizations cannot just sit still and let all this happen; the labour conflict is already damaging the Aruban economy.  They offered the government and the unions a ‘negotiation table’ in the Radisson Hotel today starting at 13:00. 

ATIA-chairman Juan David Yrausquin added that the parties ‘are not allowed to leave the table before there is a solution’.  “We, Aruba, will see to this.”

Others present at the press conference were the chairs of storeowners’ association Mambo, unions IOUWA (Valero-refinery), SIWA (WEB-personnel), STT (telecommunication), AVB (nurses), Union Taxista Arubano, and also the directors of AAA and ATA.

Finance-minister Nilo Swaen (MEP) has already indicated on behalf of the government that they won’t go to the Radisson Hotel.  The minister doesn’t understand why the social partners are just now taking actions, while they have been well informed of the situation and could have anticipated damages for the Aruban economy.

“With this invitation they want the government to handle on an irresponsible manner for Aruba and agree with what the unions are asking.  That has never happened before in the history of Aruba.”  

Swaen says that he will only consider negotiations, if the social partners will also back the government when she is forced to double the bbo-percentage to continue paying for the personnel expenses.  

Premier Nelson Oduber has invited Ahata, ATIA, and the KvK to come to the government building around noon today to ‘receive the necessary information’.  He is under the impression that the employers’ organizations have an incorrect image of the situation.  The statements of the business circles regarding the current conflict with the civil servant unions have surprised him.