GREAT BAY, St. Maarten (Monday, August 6, 2012)- During the August 2 Windward Island Chamber of Labor Unions Press Conference, 1^st Vice President Claire Elshot mentioned that not all her members have been paid the Cost of Living Adjustment of 2010. “The Minister of Finance is now saying that he is in the process with the subsidized schools, but this is exactly what I was trying to avoid”. “That the subsidized schools which are also represented by the union would not be part of receiving their Cost of Living Adjustments at the month end”.

“So at a given moment this is one of our great concerns because in a quick check with some pertinent persons in position at various school boards, we have also learnt that they did not even receive information so that they can put a claim on the amount of extra subsidies that will be needed for their compensation”. In regards to the pensioner’s payment, Elshot said that a lot of them have been requesting information and said that they would need to have clarity on when and how it will be paid. “The pensioners are workers of yesterday and therefore the workers of today will be pensioners of tomorrow”. Elshot stressed that we should not forget our pensioners especially when it comes to rights and benefits.