national employment report netherlands antilles · the relationships between employer and:...

National Employment Report

Netherlands Antilles

September, 2006

Ministry of Labour and Economic affairs

Central Bureau of Statistics

Sociaal Kenniscentrum

Curaçao, September 2006

Acknowledgments

Authors of this report

Henna Toppenberg (Directorate of Labour)

John Brenters (Directorate of Labour)

José Ursula (Sociaal Kenniscentrum)

Jeroen Jansen (Sociaal Kenniscentrum)

Natasha van der Dijs (Sociaal Kenniscentrum)

Zaida Lake (Central Bureau of Statistics)

Landeline Concepcion (Directorate of Labour)

Edited by:

Henna Toppenberg (Directorate of Labour)

Special thanks to:

Henk Ten Napel, (Director of the Directorate of Labour) for guidance during the project and

feedback on the project and report.

Ruth Betrian (Directorate of Labour), especially for her data collection assistance

Humprey Alejandra and Anthony Obispo (both working at the Directorate of Labour) for their

role in the focus group interviews in Curaçao.

Norman Cicilia (Sociaal Kenniscentrum), for his role in the focus group interviews on migration.

Evie Capella (Head of Sociaal Kenniscentrum) for her willingness to take this opportunity, her

guidance and her role in the focus group interviews on migration.

Two inspectors of Ministry of Education and Culture, for their willingness participating in an

intensive interview on TVET.

CBS for providing statistics and literature

Kolaborativo, for their feedback on the report

Participating representatives Focus Groups on non-standard employment:

Participating representatives Focus Groups on labour migration

For more information please contact: The Directorate of Labour Schouwburgweg 22 Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles Telephone number: +5999 461 9999 fax number: +5999 461 5553 Email: [email protected] Website: www.diraz.an

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Contents

Introduction........................................................................................................................................................61. Report on Changing Work Arrangements and the Scope of the Employment Relationship in the

Caribbean: Trends and Challenges.......................................................................................................7 Introduction...................................................................................................................................................7 1.1 Desk review ....................................................................................................................................8

1.1.1 Characteristics of the employment relationship .........................................................................8

1.1.2 Work that falls outside the national definition...........................................................................11

1.1.3 Dependent versus independent work.......................................................................................13

1.1.4 Problems in determining if work is covered by labour law .......................................................13

1.1.5 Disguised, ambiguous, triangular employment ........................................................................14

1.1.6 False company restructuring ....................................................................................................14

1.1.7 Private employment agencies and labour contractors .............................................................17

1.1.8 Clarifying ambiguity about the employment relationship..........................................................19

1.2 Focus Group Interviews with Labour Unions...........................................................................211.2.1 Employment relationship ..........................................................................................................21

1.2.2 The context of non-standard employment................................................................................24

1.2.3 Labour market institutions developing around non-standard work ..........................................27

1.2.4 Expectations and recommendations ........................................................................................30

1.3 Report on Focus Group Interviews with Employers ...............................................................331.3.1 Employment relationship ..........................................................................................................33




1.4 Report on Focus Group Interviews with Government ............................................................431.4.1 Employment relationship ..........................................................................................................43




1.5 Conclusions and recommendations .........................................................................................521.5.1 Conclusions...............................................................................................................................52

1.5.2 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................54

2. Measuring the informal sector in the Labour Force Sample Surveys of the Netherlands Antilles57 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................57

2.1.1 Definitions (pertaining to the concepts used in this document) ...............................................58

2.1.2 Methodology..............................................................................................................................58

2.1.3 Methodological issues ..............................................................................................................59

2.1.4 Upcoming adaptations in the methodology of 2006.................................................................61

2.1.5 Short summary of the results....................................................................................................62

2.2 Size and structure of the informal sector in the Netherlands Antilles ..................................622.2.1 Informally employed population in Formal enterprises ............................................................66

2.2.2 Employed population in informal sector enterprises ................................................................69

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2.2.3 Informally employed population in Formal enterprises ............................................................72

2.2.4 Employed population in informal sector enterprises ................................................................74

3. Report on Migration ..............................................................................................................................783.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................78

3.1.1 Rapid Assessment Methodology ..............................................................................................78

3.1.2 Collected information ................................................................................................................78

3.2 Desk Review .................................................................................................................................793.2.1 Statistics....................................................................................................................................79

3.2.2 The Netherlands Antilles...........................................................................................................79

3.2.3 Curaçao.....................................................................................................................................84

3.2.4 Bonaire......................................................................................................................................92

3.2.5 Sint Maarten..............................................................................................................................96

3.2.6 Sint Eustatius ..........................................................................................................................100

3.2.7 Saba........................................................................................................................................104

3.2.8 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................107

3.2.9 The institutional framework and policies relevant to migration ..............................................108

3.2.10 Policies relevant to migration..................................................................................................110

3.3 Focus group interviews ............................................................................................................1133.3.1 Focus Group interview with Enforcement Group ...................................................................113

3.3.2 Focus Group interview with labour and social policy agencies..............................................114

3.3.3 Focus Group interviews with NGO’s.......................................................................................117

3.3.4 Focus Group interviews with employers and employment agencies.....................................118

3.3.5 Written interviews with labour unions .....................................................................................121

3.3.6 General conclusions ...............................................................................................................123

3.4 Interviews with labour migrants ..............................................................................................1233.4.1 Labour migrant interview: case 1............................................................................................124

3.4.2 Labour migrant interview: case 2............................................................................................124



3.4.5 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................126

3.5 Interviews with consulates of migrant countries...................................................................1273.5.1 Interview with the consul of the Dominican Republic. ............................................................127

3.5.2 Interview with consul of Haiti. .................................................................................................128

3.5.3 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................129

3.6 Nature and characteristics of labour migration .....................................................................1293.6.1 Nature of labour migrants .......................................................................................................130

3.6.2 Characteristics of labour migrants ..........................................................................................130

3.7 Migrant participation in the domestic labour force ...............................................................1313.8 Issues surrounding migration management ..........................................................................132

3.8.1 Policy and communication ......................................................................................................133

3.8.2 Funds and human resources..................................................................................................134

3.8.3 Synergy ...................................................................................................................................135

3.9 Industry and enterprise-level issues surrounding labour migration ..................................1353.10 General conclusions and recommendations .........................................................................136

4. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the Netherlands Antilles..............139

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4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................1394.1.1 Socio/economic history of the country up to present day ......................................................139

4.1.2 The major areas of economic activity and employment.........................................................140

4.1.3 The country’s export base and competitiveness ....................................................................141

4.2 The Current state of the TVET system in the Netherlands Antilles .....................................1434.2.1 The TVET institutional structure (for work/labour force training, assessment and certification)143

4.2.2 National TVET objectives and priorities .................................................................................143

4.2.3 Current funding arrangements................................................................................................147

4.3 Quality assurance strategies....................................................................................................1484.3.1 Assuring National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs)..............................................................148

4.3.2 The Ministry of Education .......................................................................................................149

4.4 The Caribbean single market and CARICOM Vocational Qualifications (CVQS)...............1514.4.1 Comment on differences between NVQs and CVQs ............................................................151

4.4.2 Reform the quality assurance system, adopted reforms and implementation.......................151

4.4.3 Harmonising national quality assurance practices at the CARICOM level ............................151

4.5 Reforming the TVET system in the Netherlands Antilles .....................................................1514.5.1 Main factors driving the need for change of the TVET system ..............................................151

4.5.2 Reforms needed to better address the needs for skills training and enhanced employability152

4.5.3 Adopted (actual) education and training reform policies and implementation.......................152

4.6 Impact evaluation and sustainability of the TVET system....................................................1544.6.1 Ministry of Education and impact evaluation..........................................................................154

4.6.2 Assessing training needs; institutions, sources and methods ...............................................154

4.6.3 TVET annual output specifications .........................................................................................155

4.6.4 Impact assessment .................................................................................................................156

4.7 TVET institutions and sectoral (employment) policies .........................................................1574.7.1 Restructuring of agriculture and the response of the TVET systems ....................................157

4.7.2 TVET and the response to growing/changing demand for skills in tourism, international

business and financial services ..............................................................................................................157

5. Foreign Direct Investment ..................................................................................................................1595.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................1595.2 Overview of response ...............................................................................................................1595.3 Results ........................................................................................................................................1605.4 Conclusions ...............................................................................................................................166

Literature ........................................................................................................................................................167Enclosure 1: Employment by economic position (CBS) ..........................................................................169Enclosure 2: Employment per industry (CBS, 2001) ................................................................................171

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Introduction

On behalf of the first ILO Caribbean Employment Forum organized by the ILO sub-regional

office and to be held in the October 2006 this National Employment Report (NER) for the

Netherlands Antilles has been written. For this NER studies have been conducted on: changing

work relations; informal employment; labour migration; technical and vocational education and

training; and foreign direct investment. To a higher or lesser degree these five topics are all

related to each other.

Aim of the studies was on the one hand description and analysis of existing relevant labour

legislation and regulations and statistics. On the other hand gaining insight and understanding of

the functioning of these issues from an employees’, employers’ and government’s point of view

by means of interviews.

This NER addresses national and insular policy makers, policy researchers and others of concern

in the Netherlands Antilles to take the knowledge gained as a base for further labour research and

policy where this is needed.

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1. Report on Changing Work Arrangements and the Scope of

the Employment Relationship in the Caribbean: Trends

and Challenges

Toppenberg, H; Brenters, J.; Concepcion, L. (2006).

The desk review illustrates that besides standard employment also non-standard

employment in the Netherlands Antilles are covered to a considerable extent by labour

legislation. Especially in recent years several law alterations with respect to non-standard

employment have been implemented in order to protect the employee on the one hand and

on the other hand, to go along with the increasing flexibility demands of the labour market.

However, the focus group interview reports demonstrate that in practice the Netherlands

Antilles’ labour regulations are insufficiently pursued when it comes to non-standard

employment. Employers perceive non-standard contracts increasingly as ways to escape

from dismissal legislation. In addition, many refrain from paying required social security or

taxes. Economic recession is seen as an important factor in this undesirable development.

Employees accept it because the need for the job, the lack of suitable alternatives, the lack

of knowledge of labour legislation and/or the anxiety to lose the job when coming up for their

rights. Employers get away with it because currently the government hardly performs labour

inspection, due to lack of necessary means. To improve the current situation, government

policy makers are recommended not to focus too much on altering present labour laws, but

more on bringing about ways in which employers would increasingly comply with existing

legislation. Related issues however are possibly even of greater concern. Mainly, well

designed policies with regard to vocational education, job-creation, labour migration and

informal employment, when carried out properly, could have an important positive impact on

employment relationships.

Introduction

This study identifies the incidence and nature of critical employment and labour market

challenges in the Netherlands Antilles as well as the real and perceived objectives of the workers

and employers involved in such arrangements and relationships. The report highlights industries

where changing work arrangements are important or of increasing significance. In addition,

insight is provided into the extent to which existing labour legislation is taken into consideration

by both employers and employees. In accordance with ILO guidelines both a desk review of

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relevant labour legislation and focus group interviews with relevant stakeholders have been

conducted.

Non-standard employment is defined as all forms of employment except for the fulltime working

agreement for an indefinite period of time. The non-standard employment relationships include

the relationships between employer and: outworker, trainee, contractee, freelancer and performer

of fixed services.

The desk review presents information on the regulations that apply to standard and non-standard

employment relationships in the Netherlands Antilles and the characteristics of each employment

relationship.

Focus groups have been interviewed on the three largest of the five islands of the Netherlands

Antilles, namely Bonaire, Curaçao and St. Maarten. Three groups have been interviewed on each

island: labour unions, employers and government. To give an overview of non-standard

employment in the Netherlands Antilles as a whole, the resemblances of the islands were

matched where possible. During the group session mentioned differences between islands on

certain points are explicitly mentioned in the text.

Enclosure 1 presents statistics about the type of labour contracts employees have on Curaçao,

Bonaire and St. Maarten in 2001 through 2005.

1.1 Desk review

1.1.1 Characteristics of the employment relationship

What are the characteristics of the employment relationship? (Include differences in protection by

law for the various employment relationships)

1.1.1.1 The working agreement

The working agreement is an agreement whereby one party, the employee, commits himself to

perform work in the employ of the other party, the employer, against wages during a indefinite

period of time (art. 1613a of the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles).

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1.1.1.2 When does an agreement qualify as a working agreement?

A working agreement should have the following elements in order to qualify as a working

agreement:

A. Wages1

B. Work2

C. Authority3 (supervision) element (in the employ of)

The factual situation defines the status of the employment relationship; not how parties call their

relation towards each other.

The working agreement can be fixed (e.g. one week, six months, one year, for the duration of the

work, as long as the replaced employee is sick) or for a non-fixed period of time (the so-called

“permanent service”). Most of the legal regulations are applicable to working people with a

working agreement as meant in article 1613a of the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles. A

working agreement can be concluded by several kinds of employment relationships. Most

common non-standard workers in the Netherlands Antilles are flexible employee, stand-by

employee, temporary worker, outworker or trainee/ student on work place. The following

paragraphs elaborate on these types of employment relationships.

1.1.1.3 Chain system in case of short term contracts

As of August 2000 no notice is required for termination of a continued employment agreement

for a certain period of time, which means that the continued employment agreement for a certain

period of time also expires. On the other hand after four successive employment agreements for a

certain period of time, with an interruption of less than three months, the fourth contract

automatically becomes one for an indefinite period of time (“in permanent service”). The same

applies if less than four employment agreements for a fixed period of time have followed one

another with an interruption of less than three months and a period of 36 months has been

surpassed including the interruption. Also, continued employment agreements between an

employee and different employers who are considered to be each other’s successor regarding the

employment, fall within the reach of this regulation (Article of law 1615fa BW).

Purpose of this article of law is to ease the use of short-term contracts on the one hand and to

protect employees who constantly have to face these types of contracts on the other hand.

1 Wages are the agreed upon exchange of the employer for the work done by the employee. Money (fixed amount, provision, share in the profit), food, work-clothes, production and use of housing can be elements of wages. The employer must take into account the provisions of the Minimum Wages Ordinance.2 The employee must perform the work; the work must be of value and must be performed by the employee himself; meaning no third party is allowed to perform the work. 3 The employee is in the employ of the employer; the employer is authorized to execute authority; the employer is authorized to give orders (binding indications/ instructions); the employer is authorized to supervise the work.

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1.1.1.4 Flexible employer

Flexible employment relationships are of a temporary nature and enable the employer to adapt

the number of employees in moments of time. By concluding a flexible employment relation the

employer can have an employee when needed and the employer can lay off the employee when

there is no work. Examples of flexible employment relations are:

1.1.1.5 Stand-by employee

The stand-by employee is also called stand-in worker, call employee, flexible worker or helper.

Stand-by employees are employed based on a call up contract. This is an agreement wherein the

employer agrees that the stand-by employee will be called for work if necessary and the stand-by

employee promises to accept the work offered. Characteristics of the call up contract are: parties

do not know how often and when work will be offered, and the employee is entitled to wage only

for the hours worked. The call up contract belongs to the agreements for performance of fixed

services (services rendered). This type of agreement is dominated by the general law of

agreements (‘algemene verbinstenissenrecht’). In a specific case, in order to determine if the call

up contract can be characterized as a working agreement the stand-by employee must be obliged

to attend work if called by the employer.

1.1.1.6 Temporary worker for an employment agency

When hiring out temporary workers, temporary workers are made available to a third party (= the

user enterprise or recipient) for a fee, to perform labour in the third party’s enterprise other than

by virtue of a working agreement between third party and temporary worker. When hiring out

temporary workers three parties are involved: the user enterprise/recipient (workplace), the

employment agency/temporary work agency (employer) and the temporary worker (employee).

If someone registers with an employment agency to do temporary work, one speaks of a pre

formation contract towards a working agreement. As soon as the temporary worker is hired out

for the first time the employment relationship is qualified as a working agreement between the

employment agency and the temporary worker in the sense of article 1613a of the Civil Code of

the Netherlands Antilles. Consequently, the employment agency must pay the wages, and not the

user enterprise. Regarding the relationship of authority this means that the employment agency

has the formal authority over the temporary worker. However, in practice it is the user enterprise,

which gives instructions and assignments to the temporary worker.

Furthermore, in principle all legal regulations, which are applicable to the working agreement as

meant in article 1613a of the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles, are also applicable to the

working agreement between the employment agency and the temporary worker. In particular this

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concerns the Ordinance on Minimum Wages, the Labour Regulation 2000, the Vacation

Regulation 1949 and the Severance Pay Ordinance.

Most employment agencies’ contracts have a clause that if no work is performed, no wages will

be paid ("no work, no pay"). This means that the temporary worker, who is not hired out again

after a previous hiring out, is not entitled to wages even if there is a (continuing) working

agreement instead of a pre-formation contract.

1.1.1.7 Outworker

The worker who is employed based on an agreement in which parties agree that the employee

will perform the work at home without the direct control of the employer against/for payment.

This description shows that one party is obliged to accomplish work and the other party is

obliged to pay for it. So the outworker is employed based on an agreement of contracted work or

an agreement for the performance of fixed service or the working agreement. Applicability

depends on the circumstances of the individual case.

1.1.1.8 Trainee and apprenticeship trainee

Both trainee (also called student on workplace) and apprenticeship trainee can be distinguished

here. As part of their education a trainee gains practical experience in a company during a certain

period of time (for example six months). An apprenticeship trainee works at a company while

attending school one or two days per week. Ambiguity can arise around the legal position of the

trainee. If the operations of the trainee are largely acquiring and extending knowledge,

productive labour is out of question and so is the working agreement. In other words, if the

labour is of non-productive value for the employer, there is no working agreement.

1.1.2 Work that falls outside the national definition

What kinds of work fall outside the national definition? (We assume this question to concern the

national definition with regard to the working agreement).

The Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles distinguishes three types of agreements regarding the

performance of work against compensation:

1. The agreement of contracted work (in Dutch ‘aanneming van werk’);

2. The agreement for the performance of fixed service;

3. The working agreement (amplified on in section 1.1.1).

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Neither the agreement of contracted work nor the agreement for the performance of fixed service

falls under the national definition of a working agreement.

1.1.2.1 Contracted work

The contract for work is an agreement whereby one party, the contractor, commits himself

towards the other party, the contractee, to perform a fixed work of material nature for a specified

price determined by the contractee; in this case one has a specific result in mind. (See article

1613b of the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles).

Articles 1616 up to and including 1629 of the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles state a brief

regulation with concern to contracted work. The agreement of contracted work is dominated by

the general law of agreements (“algemene verbinstenissenrecht”).

1.1.2.2 Freelancer

A freelancer is one who declares to perform one or more activities during a more or less precise

period against payment maintaining his/her own freedom and independence. The important

element of freelance work is performing work while maintaining freedom and independence. A

‘genuine’ freelance agreement is an agreement of contracted work or an agreement for the

performance of fixed service. So the freelancer does not have the protection of one who works

with a working agreement.

1.1.2.3 Agreement for performance of fixed services (services rendered)

In practice agreements for the performance of fixed services can fall under several categories

(rest group). It generally concerns the relation between a professional (e.g. lawyer, notary,

accountant, guide, etc.) and his client. In addition, all other sorts of agreements where there is

work conducted but there is no work agreement (the authority element is absent), e.g. gardening,

car-wash, etc. are also included. There are no special legal regulations for the agreement for

performance of fixed services. This is also dominated by the general law of agreements

(“algemene verbintenissenrecht”)

1.1.2.4 Differences between contracted work, performance of fixed services and working

agreement

In the case of the agreement of contracted work the result of the work is tangible.

Agreement for performance of fixed services (services rendered) is a matter of intellectual

work.

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Agreement of contracted work and agreement for performance of fixed services (services

rendered): there is no relationship of authority between parties while the most important

characteristic of a working agreement is that the employee is subordinate to the employer.

1.1.3 Dependent versus independent work

What are the definitions and/or criteria for determining dependent versus independent work?

One of the elements of the working agreement is that the employee is in the employ of the

employer; the employer is authorized to execute authority. This means the employer is

authorized to give orders (binding indications/ instructions) and to supervise the work. It is this

absence or presence of authority in the employment relationship which determines if the work is

considered either dependent or independent. Work that contains this authority relationship is

considered dependent work. Work without this authority relationship is considered to be

independent work. The authority relationship does not necessarily imply that the employer needs

to make use of his or her authority. There are numerous employees that practice their position

almost independently, without direct instructions of the employer, though they still work under

working agreement. The authority position only implies that the employer is entitled to act as

such (article 1613a of the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles).

In practice it is not always clear to determine the absence or presence of an authority relationship.

When indistinct, a judge should decide on the basis of the concrete context of the concerning

case.

1.1.4 Problems in determining if work is covered by labour law

What kinds of situations create most problems or difficulties in determining if the work is covered

by labour law?

Only the working agreement is covered by labour law. In case of an agreement of contracted

work or an agreement for the performance of fixed services there is no such protection. Problems

arise when the agreement is set up like a working agreement purposefully, but in reality it is not.

Often only expert investigation can make this clear.

Consequently, it may occur that employees are held under the impression that their contract is a

working agreement. However, when the agreement is precisely checked for the elements as

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mentioned in 1.1.1.2, it turns out that in fact it is an agreement of contracted work or an

agreement for the performance of fixed services.

It can, therefore, be concluded that the agreement of contracted work and the agreement for the

performance of fixed services may lead to situations where the most problems or difficulties exist

in determining if the work is covered by labour law.

1.1.5 Disguised, ambiguous, triangular employment

What is the status on the existence of and the law related to disguised, ambiguous, triangular

employment relationships, as referred to in Chapter 2 of these guidelines?

By Ordinance of December 4, 1989 (P.B. 1989, no. 73) making temporary workers available to a

third party is legally regulated. This Ordinance regulates the hiring out of temporary workers. In

the Decree of October 25, 1996 (P.B. 1996, no. 139) further conditions have been stipulated for

this activity.

So far, the Ordinance has only become effective for the island of Curaçao (as of November 1,

1996). The provisions of the Ordinance do not as yet apply to the other islands. This does not

imply that the hiring out of temporary workers is prohibited on these islands. As long as the

Ordinance of December 4, 1989 (P.B. 1989, no. 73) has not come into force for these islands,

there will be uncertainty about the legal relationship between employment agency and temporary

worker.

Generally, it is assumed that when a worker registers himself with an employment agency to

conduct temporary work, a pre-formation contract towards a working agreement comes about

between the employment agency and the temporary worker. This becomes a working agreement

for a fixed time period at the moment the temporary worker is effectively hired out for the first

time.

1.1.6 False company restructuring

Are there instances of “false company restructuring”, for example, where a company terminates

the employment of workers and the same work continues to be done either by the same or other

workers as independent contractors. What does the law say about this? Have there been court

cases or tribunal judgments? How does the law speak to resolving ambiguous employment

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relationships? Can workers appeal using a Ministry procedure, labour court or industrial tribunal

to challenge their employment status?

It is not in keeping with good faith within the labour market, for non-temporary work to be

performed by temporary workers. That is why temporary workers are only allowed to be put in

for work of a temporary nature that is in case of:

1. replacement of a temporarily absent employee;

2. replacement of an employee whose working agreement has been suspended, unless this has

to do with a collective labour dispute;

3. temporary filling a vacancy due to the termination of a working agreement of a permanent

employee in anticipation of the actual commencement of employment of a new permanent

employee;

4. accidental increase of work;

5. commencement of new work;

6. urgent work that has to be performed immediately to prevent impending accidents, to

organize rescue measures or to repair shortcomings of the material on a installation or to

company buildings which can become dangerous to the employees.

Furthermore, there are specific rules regarding the timeframe. A temporary worker can be hired

out (placed at the disposal of) for a maximum period of twelve months to the same enterprise.

Two disposals by the employment agency of the same temporary worker to the same enterprise

with an interval of less than three months between them, are qualified as one continuous disposal,

which can last no longer than twelve months.

Also in case a temporary worker is placed at the disposal of an enterprise as replacement for

another worker who earlier was hired out to the same enterprise by the employment agency, both

these disposals qualify as one continuous disposal, when the length of the interval between them

is less than three months.

In case mentioned regulations are not observed, hiring out is prohibited.

1.1.6.1 Recent offences

Recently there has been at least one case of a company not complying with the rules. Amongst

others, the timeframe restrictions were not obeyed and furthermore, workers from different sub

contractors were paid different allowances for similar jobs.

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However, this was not the result of an attempt to restructure the company. This merely had to do

with coping with a heavily fluctuating workload. In quiet times it is impossible for the company

to keep a large workforce. On the other hand, in busy times more workers are needed to finish

the job within a competitive time span.

1.1.6.2 Court cases/tribunal judgments

There were no court cases or tribunal judgments. Although the law describes sanctions, these

were not immediately applied. Instead, after the labour inspection had reported the offences, the

company was acknowledged and invited to explain the situation. Next, the company was

instructed to draw up a plan with necessary changes to be carried out within a short time span.

Currently, this plan is being executed.

On the one hand, it is necessary to change the situation. Otherwise a precedent would be

established for other companies to hire employees without respecting the law. On the other hand,

the important economic role played by the company on a local level, made a negotiating strategy

more appropriate than a sheer penalizing strategy. The latter may have negative effects on the

company’s continuity which is to be avoided.

Bearing in mind the lack of sufficient inspection capacity, it is very important to look for a

solution that is mutually beneficial.

1.1.6.3 Ways in which workers can appeal

In case an employer has violated the rights of the employee according to the law, the employee

can lodge a complaint at the Directorate of Labour Affairs. The Directorate of Labour tries to

intermediate on the part of the worker. In case the worker has a legitimate claim and mediation

does not resolve the problem, the worker can start a legal procedure. In case his/her income is

below a certain level he/she is entitled to free legal assistance.

In case of civil dispute (for example a labour dispute, divorce cases, alimony cases, rental dispute

etc.) or penal cases persons who cannot afford and who are entitled to it, can request free legal

assistance (Free Legal Assistance Decree: P.B. 1959, no. 198)4. In general people who are

One is qualified as “indigent” in a civil case (but not a labour dispute) or a penal case those whose income from labour is equal or less than the legal stipulated minimum wage in category I. This minimum wage for Bonaire is NAfl. 12.471,48 per year, for Curaçao NAfl. 12.000,- per year, for Saba NAfl. 12.000,- per year, for St. Eustatius NAfl. 11.400,- per year and for St. Maarten NAfl. 13.200,per year (NAfl. 1,8 = US$ 1,00). By income is meant in this case: net income for the income tax. In case of a labour dispute is meant as indigent: those whose yearly gross income from labour is equal to or less than NAfl. 12.000,-.

Also, those whose yearly gross income is above NAfl. 12.000,- but equal or less than NAfl. 22.500,-, can lay claim to legal assistance provided he/she pays a contribution. The higher the income, a higher contribution is indebted. This contribution is required only in case of a labour dispute

16

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indigent and who legally reside in the Netherlands Antilles can be eligible for free legal

assistance. Both Dutch residents and alien residents can be eligible for free legal assistance in

civil cases. When a treaty is applicable, alien non-residents can also be eligible for free legal

assistance in civil cases. Dutch residents, alien residents and alien non-residents can be eligible

for free legal assistance in penal cases.

1.1.7 Private employment agencies and labour contractors

Does the law cover private employment agencies, labour contractors?

1.1.7.1 Private employment agencies

“Hiring out of temporary workers”, is considered when temporary workers are made available to

a third party (= the user enterprise or recipient) for a fee, to perform labour in the third party’s

enterprise other than by virtue of a working agreement between third party and temporary

worker.

By Ordinance of December 4, 1989 (“Landsverordening ter beschikking stelling van

arbeidskrachten” P.B. 1989, no 73) making temporary workers available to a third party is legally

regulated. This Ordinance regulates the hiring out of temporary workers (‘uitzendwezen’). In the

Decree of October 25, 1996 (P.B. 1996, no. 139) further conditions have been stipulated for this

activity.

The law states that every island of the Netherlands Antilles must decide itself if and when this

law will come into effect. So far the Ordinance only came into force for the island Curaçao in

November 1996 by means of a “Landsbesluit houdende algemene maatregelen” (P.B. 1996, no.

138). The other islands of the Netherlands Antilles have not put the law into operation, so the

provisions do not apply to the other islands. This however does not imply that the hiring out of

temporary workers is not allowed on the other islands.

All employment agencies in Curaçao must have a permit. A permit must be requested to the

Executive Council (“Bestuurscollege”). The Executive Council can give the permit under

restrictive conditions and can attach regulations to it. The hiring out of temporary workers

without a permit is punishable by law, as is acting in violation of any legal provisions and

conditions, which the permit may impose.

Since August 2000 private labour mediation is allowed by law. Until this date only public labour

mediation was allowed as stated by Ordinance (“Landsverordening houdende de instelling van

een arbeidsbureau”; P.B.1946, no 109). This Ordinance prohibited (art. 10) private labour

17

mediation and made it punishable (art. 11). These two articles were lapsed in art. 4 of the

Ordinance “Landsverordening flexibilisering arbeidswetgeving5” (P.B. 2000, no 68). Purpose of

this law alteration was promoting employee mobility.

If one signs up with an employment agency to do temporary work, one speaks of a pre-formation

contract towards a working agreement. As soon as the temporary worker is hired out for the first

time, this is qualified as a working agreement between the employment agency and the

temporary worker in the meaning of article 1613a of the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles.

This means that the employment agency must pay the wages, and not the user enterprise.

Regarding the relationship of authority this means that the employment agency has the formal

authority over the temporary worker. However, in practice it is the user enterprise, which gives

instructions and assignments to the temporary worker.

Furthermore, in principle all legal regulations, which are applicable to the working agreement as

meant in article 1613a of the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles, are also applicable to the

working agreement between the employment agency and the temporary worker. In particular this

concerns the Ordinance on Minimum Wages, the Labour Regulation 2000, the Vacation

Regulation 1949 and the Severance Pay Ordinance.

Most employment agencies have a clause in their contracts that if no work is performed, no

wages will be paid ("no work, no pay"). This means that the temporary worker, who is not hired

out again after an earlier hiring out, is not entitled to wages even if there is a (continuing)

working agreement instead of a pre-formation contract. Finally the employment agency as

employer must deduct income tax and social premiums.

1.1.7.2 Labour contractors

As of August 2000 temporary workers may be at disposal of the same borrower for a maximum

of 12 months (see art. 6 of the “Landsverordening op het ter beschikking stellen van

arbeidskrachten; P.B. 1989, no 73).

Landsverordening van de 27ste juli 2000 houdende wijziging van het Burgerlijk Wetboek van de Nederlandse Antillen, de Landsverordening beëindiging arbeidsovereenkomsten (P.B. 1972, no 111), de Landsverordening op het ter beschikking stellen arbeidskrachten (P.B. 1989, no. 73) en de Landsverordening van de 4e juli 1946, houdende de instelling van een arbeidsbureau (P.B. 1946, no. 109) (Landsverordening flexibilisering arbeidswetgeving).

18

5

Disposals which follow each other within 3 months are to be considered as one disposal (the

same applies for the so-called “revolving door-constructions”). After a period of disposal the

former borrower may dispose of the same temporary worker after a period of 3 months.

Exceeding this period does not have any consequences for the relationship (employment

agreement) between the temporary worker and the temping agency. The employment agreement

of the temporary worker stays the same. However, the temping agency can be fined. The purpose

is to promote the use of temporary workers. Article 6 of the ‘Landsverordening op het ter

beschikking stellen van arbeidskrachten’ would apply to this situation, and so far, only pertains

to Curaçao.

1.1.8 Clarifying ambiguity about the employment relationship

Whenever there is ambiguity about the employment relationship provide information on:

a) mechanisms to clarify the relationship between the various parties to allocate obligations

between them (include issues of compliance and enforcement mechanisms;

1.1.8.1 Refutable suspicions in case of part time work and call up contracts

A refutable suspicion means that if certain circumstances apply, the court has to accept the

situation as described in the regulation as being correct in applying the relevant article of law, but

the counterpart may prove that the legal position is somewhat other than suspected.

1.1.8.2 Legal suspicion of the existence of an employment agreement

As of August 2000 it is suspected that an employment agreement exists if a person works on

behalf of another person and is being paid for during three consecutive months, weekly during a

minimum of 8 hours or a minimum of 35 hours per month. If the employee can prove that his

situation applies to these criteria for example by providing a salary slip, an employment

agreement exists, unless the employer can prove the contrary.

1.1.8.3 Legal suspicion regarding the agreed period of labour

If an employment agreement where no period of labour has been agreed upon (for example: nil

hours contract or a min/max contract) has existed for at least three months, as of August 2000 the

number of labour hours in the fourth month is suspected to be the average of the hours of labour

during the three previous months.

19

For example: if an employee has worked an average of 100 hours per month during the months

January until March, then it is assumed that during the month of April he also worked 100 hours

and can claim a salary for 100 hours, unless the employer can prove, for example with time clock

sheets, that the employment has been less during that month than the three previous months and

that parties have agreed on a “no work no pay” basis. Purpose is to strengthen the legal position

of employees with a flexible contract.

Articles of law: articles 1613ca and 1613cb BW

b) existing regulatory framework and practices relating to private employment agencies;

Please refer to section 1.1.7 for an elaboration on this point.

c) dependent and independent work in national labour legislation and the machinery for

resolving disputes about the status of a worker.

First part of this question is answered in section 1.1.2.

Machinery for resolving disputes about the status of a worker: a person can appeal for his or her

rights. The judge would decide if in the particular case a working agreement exists.

20

1.2 Focus Group Interviews with Labour Unions

1.2.1 Employment relationship

1) The concept of non-standard employment relationships as experienced by the group:

a) What are various forms, models or possibilities found in the Netherlands Antilles?

Table 1.1. Non standard employment in the Netherlands Antilles

Focus groups: employers/ labour unions/ government officials

Description of the non-standard Economic Remarks Incidence: (Pre- Trend: (no change,

relationship activity/ dominant, dominant, slowly increasing,

occupation Rare; Very rare or rapidly increasing)

inconclusive

1. Working agreement for a fixed All branches Occurs to a high extent; is Dominant Rapidly increasing

period of time often considered

standard.

2. Contracted work: Construction sector Dominant Slowly increasing

3. Temporary work for employment All branches Dominant Rapidly increasing

agency

4. Sub-contracting Dominant Slowly increasing

5. Stand-by / On call employment Hospitality sector Dominant Slowly increasing

6. Traineeship Hospitality sector All branches, but Dominant Slowly increasing

especially in hospitality

7. Free lance Rare Slowly increasing

8. Part-time work Rare Slowly increasing

9. Youth employment Rare No Change

Source: ILO guidelines

b) Try to classify the most common non-standard employment relationship as they were

discussed and concluded on using the following categories:

I) Disguised employment relationships: purposefully disguised as independent

work as opposed to genuine ambiguity resulting from commercial and independent

contracting arrangements (e.g. False self-employment, false subcontracting, establishing

pseudo-cooperatives, false provision of services, false company restructuring

21

Working agreement for a fixed period of time

Employers often enlist employees on a temporary basis of for example a few months, half a year,

one year or several years. When the employer chooses to renew the contract either a new

temporary contract is offered or the employment relationship is from then on based on a working

agreement for indefinite time. Labour Unions indicate that too frequently the choice of renewing

a contract by offering a new temporary contract is used even in cases in which it seems clear that

the job is a permanent job and also the employee has proven to be capable.

Temporary work for an employment agency

In Curaçao employees are allowed to be hired out for the same company for a maximum of one

year (see desk review section 1.1.6). On the other islands however this regulation is not

implemented. Consequences are that Labour Unions in Bonaire and St. Maarten complain about

employment agencies letting employees perform the same job at the same company for year in

and year out. Not much can be done about it due to the absence of labour legislation. Legally

these employees have a working agreement for an indefinite period of time with their

employment agency. On the other hand, in spite of the positive consequences, the existence of

labour legislation with concern to this aspect on Curaçao also has negative consequences; Labour

Unions in Curaçao detect that employment agencies often replace their employee to another

company after a year (because the law requires this) due to the company’s unwillingness or

impossibility to offer the employee a contract for permanent service.

Sub-contracting

One of the participants elaborated on subcontracting. He stressed that ‘malafide’ as well as

‘bonafide’ labour subcontractors can be distinguished. Malafide labour subcontractors in general

do not transfer social security and tax payments; underpay their employees; and frequently hire

illegal migrants. Motives for these subcontractors not to comply with rules and norms are

commercial and also having the benefits of avoiding regulations. Bonafide labour subcontractors

on the other hand are specialized in a certain field; registered at the chamber of commerce; pay

tax and social security contributions; and apply the collective agreement conditions.

False trainee contracting

Employees sometimes work under the guise of a trainee contract, while in reality the

employment relationship contains elements of a working agreement. This means the concerning

students perform more or less the same work as ‘normal’ employees under limited guidance.

Employers’ reasons to enter into such employment relationships are: cheaper labour; making use

of the benefits of temporary work; and making use of foreign expertise in case of foreign

students. Sometimes students accept a working agreement directly after finishing their education

22

or sometimes even without finishing it. Labour unions also mention the lack of laws with respect

to trainee contracting.

Another point addressed by the group with regard to students on work placement is that

according to the participating labour unions students often occupy places that could have been

filled by unemployed persons. There are companies, particularly in the hospitality industry, of

which the workforce consists for the greater part of trainees. Labour unions do not consider this a

desirable situation.

Furthermore, the group members see reason to suspect that students coming from the

Netherlands are often preferred above local students, even though the costs of hiring foreign

students are higher. Employers often assume these foreign students to bring more knowledge and

experience, to work harder and to have a more customer friendly mentality compared to local

counterparts. Above that, most employers that are suspected to discriminate in this regard are

from the Netherlands themselves, which is also assumed to play a role.

False stand-by / on-call employment

It frequently occurs that employees have a stand-by or on-call contract but in fact are working

full-time during a considerable period of time. These employees are actually working under a

working agreement for an indefinite period of time.

False youth employment

According to the labour union group participants youth employees (between 15 and 18 years of

age) in apprenticeship training courses are often treated as regular employees.

II) Ambiguous employment relationships – actual and genuine doubt distinguishing

dependent and independent work

For an employer, a freelance agreement does not bring as many obligations as a working

agreement. Although the specific conditions that constitute either a working agreement or a

freelance agreement are stated by law, in practice a lot of employees seem to have a freelance

employment relation while in reality the employment relation has all the elements of a working

agreement.

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III) Triangular relationships: the responsible employer is unclear because a third

party(ies) is (are) involved

Temporary workers for a public or private employment relationship

In case of public employment mediation the public employment institution or agency involved as

a third party only mediates between employee and employer to come to a working agreement

between them. In contrast, a private employment agency temporary hires out a worker to a user

enterprise which is qualified as agreeing upon a working agreement between employee and the

private employment agency (see desk review section 1.1.7.1). Both in case of public as well as in

private employment agencies the responsible Labour Unions on all Islands indicate not to have

observed any indistinctiveness with regard to the responsible employer. So, this does not seem to

be perceived as a problem in our country..

With concern to subcontracting however the responsible employer is not always distinct, with all

consequences especially in case of conflict or dismissal.

1.2.2 The context of non-standard employment

2) Ask participants to indicate the context/situations linked to (higher) incidence of non-standard employment relationships discussing the following specific issues:

a) What facilitates promotes or even justifies the use of non-standard relationships:

Mainly due to an economic recession (especially on Curaçao) employers and employment

agencies increasingly demand as well as promote more flexible work relationships. To a certain

extent, the government responded to this demand by facilitating as well as promoting non

standard employment relationships by law. For example, it is allowed to renew a fixed period

contract three times (with an interruption of less then three months) or altogether to a maximum

of 36 months. Thereafter, if it is not ended, the contract changes automatically into one for an

indefinite period of time. Also, permitting employment agencies and allowing them to let

employees work for the same borrower for 12 months promotes non-standard employment.

Labour unions say to understand that in certain sectors (for example the construction sector)

employers offer employees employment contracts for as long as the project concerned takes. In

other words, labour unions consider non-standard employment relationships justified in

temporary projects. However, in case the job has a permanent character, employees should be

24

given a working agreement for an indefinite period of time. The probation period of two months

should be enough for the employer to judge if the employee is suitable for the job. A working

agreement for indefinite time creates a more secure and stable position for the employee and

gives the employee the opportunity to enter into other agreements. Also, it offers the employee

the chance to build up a pension fund. A contract for a definite period of time is in general

unfavorable from the employee’s point of view and increases his/her chance to be misused and

exploited. Labour unions speak of cases where employers kept on offering their employees short

term contracts, extended it a few times and when extending wasn’t allowed anymore ended the

contract. To fill the positions that become vacant new employees are hired.

b) Motives of employers/workers to enter in such relationships and solicit specific

responses on the following:

I) Why are individual workers/employers entering into such relationships

Non-standard employment has a considerable number of advantages for employers. According to

labour unions employers enter into such relationships because of insecure market conditions and

to easily get rid of employees when dissatisfied with them. By hiring workers on temporary

contract basis, employers can avoid dismissal regulations which are considered time consuming,

costly and complex mainly because of the permission of the Directorate of Labour that is needed

in order to dismiss an employee.

Employees comply with non-standard employment, because of the competition due to the large

supply on the labour market coupled with employees’ anxiety to lose their job.

II) Position; encourage/discourage

Labour Unions indicate that in general employers and employees are opposite to each other with

regard to non-standard labour. Employers encourage non-standard employment relationships for

previously mentioned reasons, while employees discourage it.

III) Motivation for promoting/resisting.

Labour Unions indicate that they have little understanding for the resistance of employers against

the dismissal law. In their opinion, employees can still be dismissed quite easily. Furthermore,

Labour Unions suggest employers to give more attention to investigate the causes of the so called

25

dysfunctional behavior of the employee and come up with solutions to bring about change to the

benefit of the employment relationship. In their view, resignation should be a last option.

c) The impact of non-standard relationships on:

I) Social Protection

According to the labour unions, in practice non-standard employees hardly receive any social

protection. Labour market regulations with regard to working hours, overtime, vacation and

dismissal in general are barely observed by employers. The feeling of insecurity often brings

about a chain reaction for the employee with consequences on psychological, social, productivity

and financial factors.

Although a salary slip is obliged, a great part of employers do not provide one. This can have

negative consequences when evidence needs to be provided about the amount of payment one

has received.

Mentioned reasons for the scarce social protection are the economic situation, commercial self-

interest of the employer, lack of controls by the labour inspection and the malfunctioning of the

executive department of the labour office.

II) Occupational safety and health

Non-standard employment is claimed to have a negative impact on occupational safety and

health. Although employers are obliged to pay social security (‘SVB: Sociale Verzekeringsbank’

= Social Security Bank) for all employees, in practice it is scarcely transferred for non-standard

workers. Furthermore, less safety measures are undertaken. A lot of employees are continually in

service for too a short period of time to gain enough knowledge and experience about safety

measures.

Labour unions have noticed that in enterprises that have a collective labour agreement close

attention is paid to safety measures. This is in contrast to enterprises without a collective labour

agreement where hardly any safety measures are taken. More control by means of a considerable

increase in the activities of the governmental labour inspections on all Islands is expected to lead

to a remarkable difference.

26

III) Workers organization and trade union membership

Almost all trade union members are standard employees that have a working agreement for an

indefinite period of time. Non-standard employees hardly ever join a labour union. Therefore, the

increase of non-standard workers in general seems to negatively affect the number of labour

union members. However, a relative decrease of members (especially active members) may also

be due to a change in mentality and attitude of workers in general. Employees seem to be less

socially involved, less adhesive, more afraid to stand up for their opinion, more materialistic and

more ego-minded than they used to be.

Besides the insecure position that non-standard employees face compared to standard employees,

fear to lose the job is often a reason not to join a trade union. A fear that is in place according to

labour unions, because history has learned that several non-standard employees have lost their

jobs after showing interest in joining a trade union. Employers sometimes abuse this fear.

IV) Labour costs

Non-standard employment in general is less expensive to employers compared to standard

employment, for several reasons:

- it is easier to fire non-standard workers or end their contract;

- in the case of call up workers they only need to get called and paid when there is

sufficient work for them to do;

- it is easier to get out of the social security payments,

Even when the employer has to pay commission to an employment agency the advantages often

still are considerable.

V) Human resource management (objectives/policies)

Most companies in the Netherlands Antilles do not perform human resource management.

1.2.3 Labour market institutions developing around non-standard work

3) Discuss labour market institutions that are developing around non-standard arrangements including the following issues:

27

a) The level of institutionalization of labour contractors as third party in the supply of labour

to employers

Labour contractors as a third party in the supply of labour to employers are institutionalized in

private employment agencies and sub contracting companies. Comments on this topic are

described in section 1.2.1 and related legislation is described in the desk review section 1.1.7

b) Changing approaches of labour legislation to “employees” versus “contract labour”

Several law alterations have been implemented in the Netherlands Antilles to go along with the

increasing demand in flexibility of the labour market. The most relevant legislation regulations

are described in the desk review in section 1.1.

c) Existence and operation of private employment agencies and the legislation applicable

to them.

In Curaçao a relatively large amount of private employment agencies exist. Trade Unions in

general do not think highly of these agencies because social security payments are often not

transferred and social protection is not sufficiently provided. In addition they accuse agencies to

successively place personnel for temporary jobs, for positions while permanent service must be

the main goal.

For legislation: see desk-review section 1.1.7

d) Discuss the aspects of compliance with and enforcement of national legislation. Are

existing levels of enforcement of labour codes sufficient?

In general there is both low compliance and low enforcement with national legislation. One

labour union representative estimated that a majority of all employers do not follow labour rules.

Employees are often not well informed about their labour rights or are afraid to stand up for their

rights because of the risk of loosing their job. Inspection of workplaces and employment records

takes place scarcely and fines are barely given.

Labour Unions on Bonaire complain that collective bargaining often goes labourious, mainly

because for years there is no government mediator on the Island. The fact that the government

mediator needs to come from Curaçao is considered inhibiting.

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e) Are existing dispute resolution mechanisms adequate to address industrial conflict

(abuse and exploitation) arising from non-standard employment practices?

Although existing dispute resolution mechanisms work adequately in theory, Labour Unions say

that in practice the employees’ fear of losing their job inhibits them to address industrial conflict

(abuse and exploitations) arising from non-standard employment practices.

In addition, labour procedures take a lot of time, especially court procedures. Labour Unions in

St. Maarten suggest attracting a judge specially to carry out labour cases in order to speed up

procedures.

For the description of the legislation that is applicable in civil dispute, see desk review section

1.1.6.3.

f) Social Dialogue and non-standard employment relationships. Probe on issues such as:

I) Action taken by trade unions to influence the different kinds of work

arrangements.

Non-standard relationships are of great concern to the trade unions. One union in Curaçao

indicated to be undertaking activities to organize non-standard workers. Besides non-standard

workers also unemployed people are motivated to organize themselves. Organizing these two

groups however goes with much difficulty. Workers in general are often afraid to organize

because they run great risk of loosing their job. For non-standard workers this risk is even greater

because they are easier to get rid of. The law of the Netherlands Antilles states that more than

half of all employees in a company must join to oblige companies to negotiate a collective

agreement with the union (By Ordinance “Landsverordening Arbeidsgeschillen” art. 14a lid 4,

P.B. 1946, no. 119). According to the unions an exceptionally high percentage compared to other

nations. This rule makes it even harder for employees to get organized. Also, Labour Unions in

St. Maarten emphasize that all employees have the right to join the Union, but only permanent

workers are allowed to join the referendum, which is considered discriminative.

Main reason for unemployed persons not to join a labour union is because they only want to pay

subscription if the union can provide them with a job.

II) Mechanism for dialogue between employers and workers about contracting out

or other work arrangements

29

Group participants mention that tripartite meetings are nearly non-existent. See section 1.5.3.

question 3f-II.

III) Collective agreements (clauses) that cover such work arrangements. For

example, clauses that provide exceptions for or limit the time for renewals of

contract, casual or other such work arrangements or that require consultation

No examples were mentioned during the focus group interviews.

IV) Trade union, employers companies or joint action/ programs such as companies

formed to supply services or labour to principal employers after job cuts were

implemented;

No examples were mentioned during the focus group interviews.

1.2.4 Expectations and recommendations

4) Expectations and recommendations of participants:

a) Are non-standard employment practices expected to impact substantially on the relevance of

industrial relations institutions in the near future?

Non-standard employment is expected to continually increase as a consequence of a more

flexible labour market. This applies especially to tourism, one of the largest industries in the

Netherlands Antilles. A general existing opinion of Labour Unions is that an increase of non

standard employment has a weakening effect on Labour Unions. Labour Unions do not always

have a negative view towards non-standard employment in itself though. Standard agreements

however should be the point of departure. Non-standard contracts are considered understandable

to the extent that the job requires a certain flexibility, for example in order to go along with

seasonal fluctuations.

b) Are remedial policy measures required to address the growth of non-standard employment

practices?

Labour Unions do not know of any remedial policy that addresses the growth of non-standard

employment practices. More policy is needed, but above all an increase in the quantity and

quality of the labour inspection is emphasized. With regard to labour legislation, labour unions

30

suggest the government to abolish short running contracts when the company has work for a

longer period of time. The government should also provide more rules for scheme workers.

Labour Unions indicate that they could undertake more themselves when it comes to collective

bargaining. Although practice shows that it is hard to organize and activate people. Especially

Bonaire emphasized the importance of more meetings between Labour Unions. However,

organizing such meetings turns out to be intensive, costly and frequently members lack

motivation.

Both immigration and informal sector issues relate to non-standard employment. Foreign

workers frequently have a non-standard employment relationship with their employer and also

workers in the informal sector (see chapter 2 for an elaboration on the informal sector) have.

Next to non-standard employment policy immigration policy (elaborated upon in chapter 3) is

required. This concerns all three islands, especially St. Maarten. Also, the informal industry

needs to be investigated and regulated.

c) Probe on a labour market wide “floor” of worker rights, i.e. Bill of Rights for Workers?

Not much response received on this issue.

d) Probe for recommendation on reforms deemed necessary within the industrial relations

institutions (trade unions, Ministries of Labour) to better address this dynamic and fluid

transformation at the workplace?

Different Labour institutions (National Directorate of Labour and Insular Labour Office) seem to

be working next to each other instead of with each other. A better tuning between labour

institutions is claimed to be necessary.

More labour unions in some sectors are needed. Unions, especially in Bonaire, indicated that

some sectors (for example the security sector) rarely have labour unions because employees run

the risk of getting fired when they organize themselves.

Working times and overtime payment are only partly regulated by law; as a consequence misuse

is taking place. For instance, security guards working at night get paid the same salary (which

mostly is a minimum wage) as they would have gotten when working during daytime.

Part-timers are unfairly treated. The law does not provide sufficient regulations for part-time

labour. When a person works part-time after working full-time for a certain period of time, the

31

pension money that the person receives at the end will be based on the part-time working hours.

Only when one is a labour union member, one can keep the build up years.

Labour unions suggest to present misconduct by employers in media. Fines are scarcely (if ever)

given to employers that misconduct. The insular government has to carry out more labour

inspections.

Employees need to professionalize, emancipate and become more conscious.

32

1.3 Report on Focus Group Interviews with Employers




See scheme in previous section

According to the employer representatives, contracts for a definite period of time (half year, two

years) occur very often and should therefore also be categorized as standard contracts.

b) Try to classify the most common non-standard employment relationships as they were


Contract workers

Currently the construction industry on Bonaire is characterized by a shortage of workers. A

number of “good” workers have contracts for an indefinite period of time. The others (self

employed) are workers on call for the best paying employer for a particular job. The self-

employed are usually foreigners who do not mind working at night or during the weekend and

official holidays. Especially in the construction industry many non-registered employers are

active. Due to the lack of proper governmental control, this situation is worsening.

Worker on call

Many workers on call are working in restaurants. They are approached when there is a shortage

of personnel.

Trainees

Trainees are popular because they earn low salaries, arrange their accommodation themselves,

and stay for a short period and in that way do not become a burden to the employer. Usually they

are working in service or in the front-office. Employers indicate that it is difficult to find trained

personnel. This is also an important motive to hire trainees.

33



a) What facilitates, promotes or even justifies the use of non-standard relationships:

For bankers and insurance companies the standard policy is to have a probation period for one

year followed by a contract for an indefinite period of time. From the employees’ point of view

this is the ideal situation. It applies however only to those that have good education and are

working in the sectors that are not subject to seasonality or dramatic variations in demand over

short periods of time.

Unfortunately for many, this ideal situation is not within reach. A great share of the employment

opportunities on the Netherlands Antilles typically requires low levels of education and can be

found in the construction and hospitality sector. The construction industry is known for its

running followed by stalling and the hospitality industry is contending with the aspect of

seasonality. As a result most employers and employees are tied to flexible contracts.

The employer representatives agreed that non-standard (flexible) labour relations are justified in

case of a changing workload due to seasonality or an in-continuous flow of projects in the

construction sector. On St. Maarten, the situation in casinos however is worrying. All the major

casinos on St. Maarten are operated by just three people who individually own several casinos.

This ownership of several companies is misused to circulate employees, thereby avoiding labour

law regulations.

For example, a cleaner might be working in one casino for three months and then be transferred

to another casino from the same owner to do the same work. This may be repeated over and over

again. In this way, the law that states that after three contracts with a break of no more than three

months one should get a standard contract is avoided. In reality the cleaner might be working

continuously for the same owner for years.

Obviously, in the cleaners’ case there is a permanent need for the services that are offered. But

despite that, the employer refuses to offer a standard contract. It was observed that this state of

affairs occurs frequently. The paragraph belonging to question 2c-I below discusses the origin

and consequences of this employer behavior. It is emphasized that in a particular situation the use

of non-standard contracts is not justified.

34




The number of non-standard employment relationships increased because faith in the (future)

economy has decreased. Many companies are trying to survive and are not thinking about the

long term. Non-standard relations are perceived by the employer as cheap and flexible. This

however does not justify the use of these types of contracts (see question 2a).

Another important aspect is the productivity of the employee. According to the employers group

participants, a standard relation is by definition not the most stimulating relation in terms of

productivity of the employee. Productivity control is therefore an important motive for the

employer to offer non-standard contracts.

A good economy leads to increased faith of both employers and employees. As a result of a

healthy economy more (former) employees will become freelancer. This can for example be seen

in the financial professional group where there is always a demand for people where switching

jobs is common and people are not particularly looking for the safety of a standard contract.


III) Motivation for promoting/resisting. With trade union be specifically alert to

register contributions such as: “members being lost due to outsourcing or

contracting out work; problems/success in organizing among contract workers;

experience in challenging non-standard work arrangements”.



Formally, with or without a non-standard contract, an employer is obliged to provide social

security. This is not determined by the type of contract. The difference between standard and

non-standard contracts lies in the protection against dismissal.

According to some employers’ representatives, employees with a non-standard contract can

minimize the chance to be dismissed by displaying a good working attitude. A bad or negative

35

working attitude puts an employer off. In addition, the employee should re-educate him or herself

continually to be and stay a competitive player in his or her job field.

Other employers’ group participants, especially the St. Maarten group participants, argued

however that in case of non-standard contracts, the level of social protection is low to non

existent. If the term social protection is put in a broader perspective, its relation with

flexibilisation of the job market and contracts can be better understood.

Flexibilisation has become a key concept for employers. Often the real meaning of the term

flexible in a labour relation is not fully understood by the employer and as a consequence the

labour law is generally perceived as not flexible. This perception leads to a general aversion from

the employers’ point of view to standard contracts or non-standard long term contracts (one year

or longer). It was also stated that protection of the employee in a labour relationship is not very

common to many of the (foreign) employers. The misperception of the labour laws results in

multiple effects (a.o.):

Psychological impact

Several participants of the employers group stated that people with short term contracts have

more insecurity about their income. These permanent worries have a negative effect on their

mental and physical health and their performance on the job.

Job security

No job security means that one can generally not apply for a mortgage. This means that a small

number of house owners can rent their apartments to a great number of renters (often, houses are

overcrowded). This stimulates inequality and prevents people to invest in their future.

Furthermore, this situation decreases the solidarity with the community and promotes the

degeneration of certain areas. Summarizing: Less job-security means less care for the island.

Local and foreign workers6

Local workers are more inclined to building up a future on their island. Therefore, they are

more interested in and going after standard-contracts. This “fighting for your rights”

mentality is generally disliked by many employers. Often the employer chooses foreign

employees instead local, equally educated, employees.

Another effect amplifies the preference of the employers for foreign employees. This can be

best described as a combination of the right (working) attitudes that are featured by the

6 These issues were mainly encountered in St. Maarten

36

majority of the foreign employees. Elements of the right working attitudes are: being on

time, working hard and have multidisciplinary skills.

Finally, a great number of foreign family businesses are operating on the local market.

Think of the Chinese restaurants and the Indian electronics and jewelry stores. Rarely, local

people are working in these stores. The owners keep recruiting their employees in their

native country. It can be stated that the situation escalated and has developed unfavorable

for the local employees. Currently, around three quarters of the employees on St. Maarten

are foreigners.


With respect to safety and health, the same rules apply as for people working on a standard

contract. The level of safety on the job and healthcare is considered reasonable for people with a

non-standard contract. However, it could be better. The main problem is that there is no

governmental supervision on these issues.

Seemingly trivial issues like hot weather or the fact that the employee has to pay for the safety

devices him/herself are frequently reasons for not using for example helmets or safety shoes.


As to the participation in employee-organizations and unions it can be stated that people working

on a non-standard contract are rarely organized. The reason for this is that the terms are usually

too short to be able to gain benefit from a membership.

On Bonaire the meager extent to which people on non-standard contracts are united can be

illustrated with the fact that unions represent the employees of just one hotel. In need of support,

employees can fall back on the governmental labour services.

IV) Labour costs

People working on a non-standard contract have to be paid at least the current minimum wage.

Taking into consideration the prices at which some security agencies on Curaçao offer their

services, it can be calculated that they cannot operate in a legal way. These companies either do

not pay social contributions, or pay below the minimum wage.

37

This is possible due to a lack of proper control by the government. The employer representatives

brought forward that the government carries out ad-hoc controls and chooses ‘easy’ companies.

The reason is that it is easier to check an organized company that will have complete files and

records, than scrutinizing companies with administrative disorder.

Apart from the fact that either the individual or the state is victim of these illegal practices, it also

promotes false competition. In this respect, the new law “chain responsibility

(ketenaansprakelijkheid)” is being welcomed. This law is introduced only for companies in the

construction sector. The law obliges principals in a working relation to make sure that the

company is fiscally registered.

On Bonaire it was stated that the minimum wage is too low. Despite last year’s indexation, the

minimum wage is not enough to cope with the increased cost of living. In the construction

industry this situation creates the effect that minimum wage workers will be looking for extra

sources of income. Usually they side do jobs in the same sector. Because of the low salary they

consider it approved to “borrow” or “use” the materials from their daily boss without permission,

to carry out their extra work.


For the larger part, the small scale characteristics of the majority of the companies do not allow

for a human resource manager and corresponding policy. As mentioned before, many employers

currently put emphasis on surviving and not on investing. According to the majority of the

employers, this surviving strategy is facilitated best by flexible labour relations.

This can also be seen in another trend: outsourcing. This form of temporary work is gaining in

popularity because it is considered ultimate in its comfort and flexibility.




to employers

Employers do no stimulate the organization of the employees.

38


c) Existence and operation of private employment agencies and the legislation applicable to

them.



In the past five years Curaçao has seen the coming into being of trainee bureaus and an increase

in the number of employment agencies. The latter took place especially on demand of the

hospitality sector. Also, since 1996 the national ordinance “landsverordening uitzendwezen” was

enforced on Curaçao. The law ordinance “landsverordening uitzendwezen” regulates that all

employment agencies in Curaçao must have a permit. A permit must be requested at the

Executive Council (“Bestuurscollege”). The Executive Council can give the permit under

restrictive conditions and can attach regulations to it. The hiring out of temporary workers

without a permit is punishable by law, as is acting in violation of any legal provisions and

conditions, which the permit may impose.

However, in practice the employer representatives feel this law as being far too bureaucratic.

This current situation can be illustrated with the fact that a certain renowned employment agency,

from which also the government itself hires people, does still (after ten years!) not have an

official permit. The lack of structured control makes the enforcement of the law more or less

useless. Or to use the words of the employer representative: “New laws are not necessary, but

more control is”.

This situation allows for a lively but, to an extent, informal employment agency market. Due to

the lack of governmental supervision the contractors are in many cases not institutionalized.

On St. Maarten the law ‘uitzendwezen’ is not enacted on an island level. This means that work

agencies are not required to have permits.

On Bonaire employment agencies are rare. In the construction industry the subcontractors

function as temporary labour agencies. Also, the public employment office does mediate in an

active way. However, the employer representatives suggest that the capability and adequacy of

the temporary employee should be increased. This applies both to the construction and the

hospitality sector.

39

The employer representatives argued that Bonaire is actually too small for an employment

agency. The employers are able to look for workers themselves in an efficient way. In the

construction industry there is a lot of exchange of personnel between the companies.



3e) Are existing dispute resolution mechanisms adequate to address industrial conflict (abuse

and exploitation) arising from non-standard employment practices?

To resolve conflicts between employers and employees, there are three main options that should

be considered in given order:

- Internal solution without external interference

- Complaints department labour office

- Court

The opinion of the representatives of the employers is that these options are sufficient.

On St. Maarten it was suggested that the ‘average’ employer is hardly informed about labour law

and regulations. In case of conflicts an appeal is made on a lawyer. A salient detail is that St.

Maarten has the highest density of lawyers in the world.


The unions should be more active in organizing non-standard contractees.

I) Actions taken by trade unions to influence the different kinds of work arrangements.

II) Mechanism for dialogue between employers and workers about contracting out or other

work arrangements

Not elaborated upon.

III) Collective agreements (clauses) that cover such work arrangements. For example,

clauses that provide exceptions for or limit the time for renewals of contract, casual or other

such work arrangements or that require consultation

40

There is a trend that the collective labour agreements become more individual (individual labour

agreement). This might be a reaction to the increase of the number of non-standard contracts.

IV) Trade union, employers companies or joint action/ programs such as companies formed to

supply services or labour to principal employers after job cuts were implemented;





Definitely non-standard labour relations will change organization relations in near future, as they

are doing right now. Flexibly is a keyword when delivering on-demand is required and coping

with higher standards of customer service becomes more common. The need for more flexible

employment as expressed by the employers can be derived from the increasing demand for

outsourcing and boarding-out.

The ILO definition of standard labour is too tight. Furthermore, it is old fashioned and does not

fit the current economic and labour market situation anymore. As stated before: “Non-standard

relations have become standard relations”.


practices?

The increase of the number of non-standard relations is a logical result of global economic

developments and should not be discouraged.

On Bonaire it was stated that the hospitality sector should regulate traineeships. Currently the

number of trainees is too big, resulting in distortion of the market in that segment.

In general, policy should be made clearer. This could be done by increasing and improving

information. Next, laws should be carried out and controlled. Furthermore, more policy is needed

to improve the investment climate.


41




Further recommendations for improving the relations between employer and employee could

include the following:

- Abolish the preventive test in the dismissal law.

- Look into the ‘Cessantia’ regulation

- Adjust the number of ‘carensdagen’.

42

1.4 Report on Focus Group Interviews with Government




See scheme in the report on focus group interviews with labour unions in section 1.3.1

b) Try to classify the most common non-standard employment relationship as they were


I) Disguised employment relationships: purposefully disguised as independent

work as opposed to genuine ambiguity resulting from commercial and independent

contracting arrangements (e.g. False self-employment, false subcontracting, establishing

pseudo-cooperatives, false provision of services, false company restructuring

Working agreement for a indefinite period of time

The Island government group participants of St. Maarten indicated that short term contracts are

probably even more common then contracts for an indefinite period of time.

II) Ambiguous employment relationships – actual and genuine doubt distinguishing

dependent and independent work


III) Triangular relationships: the responsible employer is unclear because a third

party(ies) is (are) involved

Sub-contracting

One of the group participants described a subcontracting company as a company that facilitates

workers for contractors. The employment relationship is usually based on a short term contract. It

can be considered a bastardization of a temporary employment agency and is also considered a

form of outsourcing. The employee has a working agreement with the subcontractor. The

43

contractor pays the subcontractor a particular fee for its services. Legally and theoretically it is

clear who the employer is because of the working agreement. In practice in general the

employment relationship seems to be clear too. On all three islands this type of employment

relationship exists predominantly in the construction sector.



a) What facilitates, promotes or even justifies the use of non-standard relationships:

On Curaçao a tight labour market as well as an undesirable national and business economical

context are mentioned reasons to facilitate the use of non-standard relationships: on the one hand

employers increasingly tend to offer non-standard employment contracts to minimize economical

risks; on the other hand employees tend to easier accept these types of contracts due to the need

for an income and the anxiety for not easily finding a job elsewhere.

In St. Maarten the overall economic situation is better, however especially the presence of a

majority of foreign employers and a majority of foreign employees is seen to facilitate the use of

non-standard relationships. Foreign employers in general tend to offer non-standard contracts

more frequently than local employers; foreign employees tend to accept a non-standard contract

more frequently.

One of the participants of the Bonaire group sees the lack of money as a justified reason for

companies to use non-standard relationships.




Participants state that the increase in the labour market’s demands to flexibly generally go hand

in hand with economic recession.

Motives of employers or employees to enter into such relationships are:

money saving motives and economical motives that lie within the context of the company;

44

labour market demands: seasonal employment, project employment;

nature of the employment activities; sometimes these are so specialistic that no specialists can

be found on the Island and therefore people from abroad need to be attracted to do the job.

These foreign specialists are often in the Netherlands Antilles only for a specific period of

time;

preference of the employee. Some employees prefer a flexible working agreement and do not

want to commit themselves too much to one employer. This for example is the case with

people who decide to work in the Netherlands Antilles only for a certain period (also applies

to trainees). Furthermore, on call employees of which the on call based job frequently is a

second job choose purposely for a non-standard, on call, employment relationship. If one

would consider working (semi) illegally also as a type of non-standard employment, it could

be said that often this is chosen deliberately by employees in order to keep their welfare

benefits next to their employment income. Part-time workers mostly choose themselves to

work part-time. Compared to several Western European countries a relatively small amount

of people work part time in the Netherlands Antilles.


In general, the group participants don’t think it is necessary to abolish non-standard employment

relationships, but only to monitor and control it. The law should define more closely in which

cases a particular job could be considered non-standard. Moreover, to get employers to better

comply with the regulations, a large increase in government control is needed.

III) Motivation for promoting/resisting.

Especially the St. Maarten group, but also those in Curaçao and Bonaire, kept emphasizing the

importance of immigration policy within the topic of non-standard employment. The St. Maarten

group participants explained that contrary to what one would expect welfare requests increase in

times of economic growth. This implicates that local people do not profit from the present

economic growth in St. Maarten and do not increasingly get jobs. St. Maarten imports people in

industries in which a surplus already exists which puts a lot of pressure on the employment

conditions. With one exception, the participants know no companies that deliberately searched

for local workers in the past two or three years. A participant used the term cultural employment

to indicate the phenomenon in which migrant employers almost only enlist compatriots as

employees.

45

Another issue is that migrant workers in the Netherlands Antilles often work extraordinary long

hours doing all types of tasks for extremely low salaries. Low skilled foreign workers in general

are used to different conditions of employment and therefore do not consider exploitation what

local people would consider as exploitation. Only few immigrants have the intention to stay in

the Netherlands Antilles. When the status of immigrant workers changes from illegal to legal,

also their attitude towards working conditions becomes more demanding. This goes along with a

decline of their attraction to employers.

Because local workers are accustomed to a different value system it usually is impossible for

them to compete with these foreign workers. On the other hand, some remarks are made

concerning local workers in the Netherlands Antilles, especially the youngsters. They often are

very critical when selecting jobs and their work mentality is often not high enough. So it works

both ways. The highest unemployment rate can be found in the youngest age group. Research on

the Labour market situation is needed in order to gain insight in the magnitude of the problems

that relate to non-standard employment relationships and labour migration issues.

The informal sector did not remain unmentioned. The informal sector is estimated to be possibly

bigger than the formal sector now in the Netherlands Antilles, especially in St. Maarten. It is

especially the informal sector that has a lot of non-standard employees. A shift has to be realized

from informal to formal. After a thorough inquiry, policy should be written and implemented.

During this process no (large) sanctions need to be carried out, the informal sector just requires to

be regulated. Goal is to decrease the informal sector to the smallest size that can possibly be

achieved.



For non-standard workers frequently no social security payments are transferred; they get little or

no vacation days; they receive low salaries; and they get fired easier. Workers are afraid to stand

up for their rights mainly due to the anxiety to get fired, the fragile economic conditions and the

lack of skills and motivation. In addition, the lack of knowledge about ones rights and duties both

on employees’ and employers’ site is an import factor.


46

Often not much attention is being paid to occupational safety and health, especially in smaller

companies. Mainly because of the high costs, hardly any money is invested in this issue.


In the opinion of the government group participants of Bonaire, trade unions generally work

reactively and rarely pro-actively. There are no collective labour agreements on a branch level.

Trade unions are insufficiently organized and lack knowledge of rights and duties. According to

the participants, problems probably stem from having the same chairman for years in a row

which implies a lack of competition.

Another observation of the Bonaire government group is that only employees of larger

companies join, usually employees who have contracts for an indefinite period of time. Non

standard employees do not join easily because they are afraid to loose their job if they do.

IV) Labour costs

Many employers would prefer non-standard employment relationships because of the possibility

to better go along with labour market developments and as a consequence save on labour costs.


Only in very large companies attention is paid to human resource management.




to employers

Public labour mediation is done by the Islands services (public employment agencies) for labour

affairs. Their role is only to mediate between employee and employer. The employment

agreement that results from the mediation is an agreement between employee and employer.

Thus, in contrast to private employment agencies, the employee enters the service of the

employer and not of the public employment agency. The public employment agency even gets

47

approached sometimes by a private employment agency to see if they know about any workers

available for a certain job.

The government group participants that are working with mediating on a daily bases observe that

a lot of clients perceive a lot of obstacles when they consider a job offer. Image seems to play an

important role for job seekers. For example with regard to cleaning jobs: cleaning in the office is

usually preferred to cleaning at people’s homes, even when the payments are the same or even

lower. Another point is the transition from school, which usually is only half a day, to working

fulltime. This time increase turns out to be hard for some. Furthermore, salary payments are often

perceived to be too low and for that reason some people see the criminal circuit as a more

appealing alternative. The Island services try to mediate people before they have to fall back on

Welfare.


Several laws have been implemented to regulate the increasingly flexible labour market. See

desk review.

c) Existence and operation of private employment agencies and the legislation applicable

to them.

The island governments of Bonaire and St. Maarten have not implemented the legislation

regarding temporary employees who work via an employment agency. As a consequence some

employees work via an employment agency for the same employer for years. In Curaçao, where

the law is implemented already, letting employees work for the same company for more than a

year is punishable. Moreover, in Bonaire and St. Maarten juridical problems for example about

the responsible employer can arise easier in case of conflict.



Labour inspection apparatus does not function well and also the political interference is too large.

Procedures are too extensive and time consuming. Large fines are not enforced. Inspection needs

to take place on a continuing basis, also in the evenings. More control of the labour inspectorates

has been emphasized several times. In this regard a number of issues remain unsolved until now:

lack of manpower;

training of personnel;

48

lack of means that are needed, for example transport;

Political will is needed and is assumed to be there. The sanctioning system is a national affair.

Participants suggest collected fines to flow back to the benefit of labour and schooling / training.



The Directorate of Labour can only sent a letter to the concerning employer in which rights and

duties are explained. Frequently this is enough to resolve issues, but sometimes a lawyer is

needed to bring about change. Participants mentioned that it would be more effective if the

Directorate is allowed to take certain measures herself. The Directorate realizes this and for that

reason it is currently working on the introduction of a system of administrative fines.


I) Actions taken by trade unions to influence the different kinds of work

arrangements;


II) Mechanism for dialogue between employers and workers about contracting out

or other work arrangements;

Though growing, the frequency of dialogue between employers and workers is still considered

insufficient. A stronger increase of tripartite meetings to exchange both information and

viewpoints have been suggested.

The most important tripartite organ in the Netherlands Antilles is the Social Economic Board

(SER; ‘Sociaal Economische Raad’) which gives advice to the government about important

social-economical matters. The board exists of a maximum of eighteen members. Twelve

members are assigned of which six employees’ and six employers’ representatives divided over

the five islands. Maximal six are members have to be independent (Landsbesluit H.A.M.

regelende de instelling van de sociaal-economische raad, P.B. 1970, 136).

Another important tripartite formal structure in which social dialogue is taken place in Curaçao is

Kolaborativo. Through a protocol signed by the social partners in Januray, 2002, the social

49

partners are made up of the following representative groups. The labor sector is represented by

individuals appointed by the three central unions: SSK, Kamara Sindikal, and CGTC. The

commercial sector is represented by representatives appointed by the boards of the KvK

(Chambers of Commerce) and VBC respectively. The government is represented by the

commissioners of the Island Territory of Curaçao. The representation is balanced and the total

number of participants is 25. These individuals have the responsibility to act as the conduit and

communicators to and from their sector organization creating a reciprocal process and

representative viewpoints. Strategic alliances with various representatives of the community

strengthen the social dialogue process. The group meets two times per month with a constructed

agenda and relies on data to drive its discussions and decision making while using a consensus

model.

Also Bonaire has tripartite meetings in the format of Plataforma Bilateral, though not formally

instituted. The employers’ organizations (AKIP and the Chambers of Commerce) and the labour

unions (FEDEBON, AFBW and BCWU), meet incidentally when this is considered needed.

Stated bottleneck is however that it is not always easy to let all members come together.

St. Maarten: Recently (19th of May 2006) St. Maarten has concluded a tripartite agreement

related to labour market policy and labour related issues which aim to improve the dialogue

between the social partners. In this agreement parties agreed upon seeking and discussing ways

and means to flexibilize the labour market of St. Maarten, while guaranteeing workers protection.

In this also special attention will be paid to the local and Antillean labour market and to the use

of short-term contract by the different sectors.

Since the beginning of 2005 the government mediator of Curaçao meets separately with both

labour unions and employers’ organizations on a quarterly basis. The aim was to meet tripartite,

but unfortunately due to communication issues trade unions turn out not to feel ready yet to talk

with employers’ organizations in a tripartite meeting.

III) Collective agreements (clauses) that cover such work arrangements. For

example, clauses that provide exceptions for or limit the time for renewals of

contract, casual or other such work arrangements or that require consultation;

IV) Trade union, employers companies or joint action/ programs such as companies

formed to supply services or labour to principal employers after job cuts were

implemented.

50





Several types of non-standard employment relationships have gotten so common that they can be

considered standard. Especially in sectors like Hospitality and Construction. It is considered very

likely that the increase in flexible work relationships will continue to impact substantially on the

relevance of industrial relations in the near future. Non-standard employment contracts should

only be agreed upon when the employment relationships requires such. One of the main

disadvantages non-standard employment is perceived to have is the impossibility for people who

do not have a working agreement for an indefinite period of time to take out a mortgage on a

house. A disadvantage which of course concerns banks as well.


practices?

Participants suggest letting policy go along with law. The government needs to facilitate and

coordinate the general interest.

In St. Maarten all casinos are owned by three people. The casino’s misuse short term contracts to

avoid the dismissal law. The casino owners consider it incomprehensible that they have to ask

the Directorate of Labour permission to fire their own personnel. One participant states that the

law alteration in which the minimum period between two contracts has been changed from one to

three months might have the opposite effect of what was intended; it turns out to be

disadvantageous instead of beneficial for many employees because many employers choose to

replace these workers instead of offering them a permanent service contract.






51

Participants call attention to the importance to take into account the typical characteristics of

each island when making national labour policy. Experience till now on has shown several times

this has not been taken into consideration enough.

More vocational training among employees is needed to increase skills and awareness and bring

about attitude change. Also more work experience places are needed.

Ignorance exists with regard to labour laws both on the employers’ side as well as the

employees’ side. Some of the employers that do have knowledge on labour legislation misuse the

employees’ ignorance. Also, participants emphasized the importance of providing more

information at schools about labour laws and employment relationships.

Emphasis is laid upon the importance to regulate the informal sector. Furthermore, the whole

migration issue needs to be examined to bring about an adequate migration policy.

1.5 Conclusions and recommendations

1.5.1 Conclusions

On each of the three islands Curaçao, St. Maarten and Bonaire three focus group interviews have

been conducted; one with a Labour Unions group, another with an Employers group and a third

with a Government group. Although a lot of similarities between the three Islands were observed,

it also became clear that every island has its own characteristics. Differences between the islands

that lie within the context of non-standard employment relationships exist mainly in economical

situation, unemployment rate and the percentage of labour migrants. For example, the group

interviews showed that Bonaire has a relatively low unemployment rate in contrast to Curaçao

and St. Maarten. Also, labour migration issues dominate especially on St. Maarten; participants

indicated that approximately 70% of the workforce is born in a foreign country; in Curaçao and

Bonaire this is roughly 30%.

Non-standard employment is in accordance with the ILO prescription defined as all forms of

employment except for the full time working agreement for an indefinite period of time. In the

introduction of every focus group session the facilitator informed the participants about this

definition and also asked participants’ opinion about it. A frequently heard comment was that in

52

some sectors non-standard contracts are so common that they could be considered standard. This

especially applies to the hospitality and construction sector.

The non-standard employment agreements that are distinguished by law are: working agreement

for a fixed period of time, temporary work for an employment agency, stand-by / on-call contract

and trainee. The government has implemented these laws and later on altered some to regulate

the changing work relationships that were a consequence of an increasing flexibility. This

increasing demand for flexibility is mainly due to an economic recession (especially on

Curaçao). Existing legislation provides legal protection to the employee against misuse or

exploitation by the employer7.

For example short term contracts are possible, but are limited to be renewed three times at

maximum (with an interruption of less then three months) or altogether to a maximum of 36

months. After that the contract changes automatically into one for an indefinite period of time, if

it is not ended. Some trade unions say that this law often works to the disadvantage of the

employee: employers frequently exploit the legal possibilities to lengthen the contract as much as

possible and than end it.

Another law concerns temporary employment agencies, which are legal and can function for the

benefit of both the employee and the employer. By law, temping agencies are prohibited to let an

employee work for the same employer for more than one year. A complaint from labour unions

on this law is however that after the year has past, many employers still will/ can not hire the

temporary employee, which means the temporary employee needs to leave that particular

company to work for another employer instead.

Thus, to a limited extent the law provides employers considerable legal space and flexibility

which is especially desired during insecure economic times: employers are allowed to offer short

term and stand-by contracts and to use temporary employment agencies. The government’s focal

aim however remains to stimulate standard employment relationships when and where possible.

A general complaint from the side of the labour unions, is that employers use non-standard

employment contracts to escape from the dismissal law. In particular, the working agreement for

a fixed period of time is commonly offered. Unions consider this to be a disadvantage for the

employee, because it means a non-secure position, with all consequences. To a certain extent

trade unions do understand that offering a standard working agreement is not always possible, for

7 See also enclosure 1 for an overview of statistics on employees per type of employment contract.

53

example when the job has a seasonal nature. Though, after the employee has shown his value

during the probation period a standard employment contract should automatically follow.

According to unions, employers do not need to have so many objections towards the dismissal

law, because if an employee misbehaves, he or she could be dismissed anyway.

Employers on the other hand favor an increase in flexibility of labour. A general complaint is the

lack of sufficiently trained personnel. Offering temporary contracts is perceived necessary

because the probation period of two months for an employee to prove himself is not considered

long enough. In addition, some employers stated that short term contracts keep the employee

more active and motivated. Also, in the view of the employers, to work for the same company for

a large number of years in general does not benefit anyone’s interest. The participating

employers underline the importance of improving labour inspection and migration policy.

Moreover, they strongly hold the opinion that exploitation and misuse should be seriously dealt

with, mainly to limit unfair competition. To manage these aspects would distinguish ‘bonafide’

employers from ‘malafide’ and would eventually lead to a more positive labour climate and

mentality.

Government officials desire non-standard employment to be better controlled, monitored and

inspected. Government participants suggested a law that better clarifies the boarders of non

standard relationships. To put an end to non-standard employment is not considered wise.

Another point stressed by the government group is the need to improve cooperation and tuning

between related governmental labour institutions, as currently they do not co-operate sufficiently.

Furthermore emphasis is put on the importance of managing the informal sector and migration

policy, two fields that are strongly related to non-standard employment issues.

1.5.2 Recommendations

Based on this study several recommendations are formulated to improve the current labour

situation in the Netherlands Antilles.

Several laws need to be reviewed and possibly some alterations would be necessary:

The law which regulates temporary employment agencies (‘Landsverordening

Uitzendwezen’) should be introduced in Bonaire and the Windward Islands as well.

There is no specific law with regard to part time work; currently when an employee switches

from a full-time to a part-time contract he loses a part of his severance pay and pension rights

(which are both based on the last-earned salary).

54

With regard to night work for schedule workers, many employers pay an employee working

evening or night shifts, the same wage as they would pay during the day. At present there is

no law that obliges the employer to pay schedule workers extra for night hours. The question

is should the government regulate this to the benefit of the employee by means of a law

alteration? Or should it be left to the Social Partners to conclude specific agreements about

this? In the current economic situation preference is given to the latter. It is an important topic

to be discussed between the social partners.

Based on our gained expertise in this field we tend to recommend the latter. However, the

parties involved should discuss these questions and decide.

Existing laws in general need to be better carried out. The government can contribute to this by

increasing the number of labour inspections. We suggest the government to inform employers

and employees (both local and migrant) about this improved inspection policy in advance so they

can choose to learn more about their rights and duties. This can be done by means of public

information meetings, radio, television, newspapers, information folders and internet. Knowledge

on employment relationships and labour laws should be provided at an early stage: both

secondary schools and vocational education should structurally bring (more) attention to this

topic for example in the economy course.

However, in order to achieve a structural improvement with regard to the problems on non

standard employment, also related issues have to be addressed. Employees need to educate,

professionalize and emancipate themselves. Also, as stressed by all focus groups, workers need

to improve their work attitude and mentality. An improvement on these points would make them

more attractive and would make employers less likely to search for foreign workers. The

government can have a stimulating role in this regard. Currently this is already the focus of

several governmental and non governmental programs that recently started in the Netherlands

Antilles. For instance a new law is implemented that obliges youngsters between 16 and 24 who

do not have a qualification equivalent to assistant vocational level or higher to enter a social

formation program in which they are educated and prepared for the labour market

(‘Landsverordening Sociale Vormingsplicht’, P.B. 2006, No. 2). Employers can do their part by

training employees themselves on client satisfaction skills, work attitude and discipline, by

having more confidence and patience with them and giving them a (second) chance. Employers

can take more social responsibility and on the long run this would be for their benefit as well.

More tri-partite meetings are recommended. Some initiatives have been taken the last few years

for more organized tri-partite decision making. Still, an increase of these is desired and

recommended to improve understanding, involvement and commitment. Furthermore, labour

55

institutions should work together more on related topics, for example by forming working groups

consisting government officials of different institutions.

Non-standard employment, labour migration and informal employment8 are integrally related.

As indicated by all focus groups, non-standard workers are often informally employed which is

the case when no taxes and social security contributions are paid by the employer. Also, labour

migrants are mostly non-standard employees: they accept a non standard contract easier and

migrant employers offer one easier. Insight needs to be gained in the informal sector and actions

need to be taken to reduce the informal sector as much as possible. In addition, further migration

policy research is needed to investigate the economic, labour market and social issues of labour

migration in the Netherlands Antilles. The results should be a base for migration policy

improvements. We want to emphasize here the importance of an integral approach.

To conclude, employees, government and employers should all actively do their share, together

where sensible, with an integral approach in mind this. This could contribute to a more positive

climate in which employers would be more likely to offer more favorable employment contracts.

On the long term this would lead to a mentality change in the Netherlands Antilles’ society with

regard to employment.

8 More information on the informal sector and labour migration can be found respectively in chapter 2 and 3.

56

2. Measuring the informal sector in the Labour Force Sample

Surveys of the Netherlands Antilles

Lake, Z. (June 2006)

2.1 Introduction

The Netherlands Antilles in 2004 and in 2005 conducted a pilot study on the informal sector,

based on the method accepted by the 17th ICLS9 (Hussman, 2002 on measuring this sector. The

new definition embraces expanding the concept of the informal sector from persons employed in

informal enterprises (according to the old definition) to persons employed in also formal

(registered) enterprises, but who work on an informal basis. Persons who work on an informal

basis work outside of the boundaries of existing labour laws. So the new definition of the

informal sector has the aim to quantify the total number of persons employed in the informal

sector, whether employed in informal sector enterprises or employed informally in formal

enterprises. This last group of persons quantify the degree of informalization of labour, which is

an essential ingredient of the new definition of the informal sector adapted in 2002 by the ILO,

which typifies the transition from defining just persons employed in informal enterprises

(according to the old definition) to persons employed informally also in formal (registered)

enterprises.

Causes for the existing informalization of labour also in the Netherlands Antilles, is among

others attributed to the rise of new, non-standard forms of employment relationships on the

labour market, such as sub-contracting, short term contracts, free lancing, etc. In such

employment relationships where national labour laws are less or even hardly taken into

consideration by neither employer and in some cases also not by employee, the employment

relationship becomes an informal one.

A worldwide expanding phenomenon assumed to contribute substantially to the rise of ‘non

standard employment relationships’ is globalisation. Globalisation has triggered the need for

different work relationships in order to serve the rapid expansion of production. Besides

globalisation local factors play a role. For instance changing legislation can produce a fertile

9 International Conference of Labour Statistics

57

ground for the rise of new forms of employment relationships, perhaps to evade labour and tax

legislation or other reasons. The surveys in the Netherlands Antilles show that the greatest share

of persons that work informal are actually employed in formal enterprises.

It is a challenge for policy makers to get a clear picture of the degree of informalization of labour

in the country. In order to contribute to knowledge in this regard, the Central Bureau of Statistics

(CBS, 2005) of the Netherlands Antilles, by means of a pilot, applied the guidelines of the new

definition of the informal sector on the Labour Force Sample Surveys (LFSS) of 2004 and 2005.

The results should help promote good government labour policies. Below is a description of the

results of 2005.

2.1.1 Definitions (pertaining to the concepts used in this document)

Informal sector: all persons employed in informal sector enterprises and persons working

informal in formal enterprises.

Informal sector enterprises: enterprises that are not registered at the Chambers of Commerce.

Formal enterprises: enterprises that are registered at the Chambers of Commerce.

Informalization of labour: The concept that describes the process in which labour agreements

between employers and employees do not comply with existing national labour laws.

2.1.2 Methodology

The new method to measure the informal sector uses apart from the enterprise method (in which

the number of informal enterprises are counted) also the method of both asking employees in the

LFSS questions about the status of the enterprise (so whether the enterprise is registered or not)

and about their personal labour agreement with their employer. Counting the number of informal

sector enterprises via questions posed to employees, renders a complete count of all persons

employed in informal sector enterprises. Employees employed in informal sector enterprises are

by default informal workers. In the old method questions about the status of the enterprises

would normally be asked to employers, self-employed workers and casual workers, de facto

counting only enterprises. In the new method, besides the employees employed in informal

enterprises, employees in formal enterprises are counted who turn out to have an informal

employment relationship with their employer. In order for the employees employed in formal

58

enterprises to be classified as informal workers, they are asked additional questions regarding

their personal labour agreement with their employer.

The questions asked to employees measure the degree whereby or to which their employers

comply with nationally regulated labour laws. These regulations regard for instance sickness

leave and payment for vacation days. Referring to labour laws entails a clear insight into these

laws. The laws should logically be consistent and labour conditions well regulated. For the

Netherlands Antilles this does not always turns out to be the case. Certain labour indicators such

as working hours are regulated differently for different industries. That is why for the pilot

survey only the main (labour and social) indicators, such as insurance coverage and dismissal

were measured. This may vary from methods used in other countries to capture the total informal

employed population in formal enterprises.

The questions regarding the status of the enterprise are questions about whether the enterprise is

registered at the Chambers of Commerce. As mentioned earlier, all enterprises that are registered

at (for the Netherlands Antilles) the Chambers of Commerce or who have a vendor license, are,

according to the new definition, formal enterprises. Enterprises that are not registered are

consequently informal.

In the last section of this chapter, the Annex with the tables, the results for each sub population,

so the number of informally employed in formal enterprises (in both the private and public

sector) and the number of persons employed in informal enterprises, are presented separately for

additional reference. The results are presented in absolute numbers as well as in percentages of

the total employed population.

2.1.3 Methodological issues

At the interpretation of the results in this document, a few words of caution need to be

mentioned. To the questions asked to employees regarding employment in the formal sector and

also regarding the status of the enterprise, the categories “don’t know” are one of the possible

response categories. Asking employees about the status of the enterprises is the challenge, but

may also be the weakness of the new method, as the results of the pilot in the Netherlands

Antilles show. The results of the pilot show that a relatively large percentage of employees

responded “don’t know” to whether the enterprise is registered at the Chambers of Commerce or

not (respectively 11 percent in Curaçao, 16 percent in St. Maarten and 8 percent in Bonaire). The

category ‘don’t know’ was excluded from the analyses and form the figures presented in the

59

tables. Consequently the number of employed persons employed in informal enterprises, is a

minimum estimation. However, because the ‘routing’ in the questionnaires of 2004 and 2005

directs this category to the section of the informally employed in formal enterprises they are

included in the total count. To avoid the occurrence of the problem of “don’t know” by

employees in the future, the CBS intents to exempt all employees and persons employed in

households from questions regarding the status of the enterprise and just refer them to the

questions regarding their labour agreement. Persons employed in households will in the future be

excluded from both sections, so both the section with questions regarding the status of the

enterprise and the section of questions for the informally employed in formal enterprise. This is

because by default, according to the new definition, households are informal entities.

In the questions asked to the employees regarding their labour agreements, the response category

“don’t know” is present as well. However, contrary to the questions asked to employees

regarding the status of the enterprise, the number of persons who answered “don’t know” to the

questions regarding labour arrangements are included in the analyses. This was done based on

the assumption that persons working formally in general would be aware of the agreements

concluded with their employers. Consequently if they are not, there is good chance that the

employment agreements are not based on compliance with the law and mutual consent.

There is an important legal aspect accompanying registration procedures of enterprises in the

Netherlands Antilles. According to registration procedures, persons that practise trades such as

masons, carpenters, hairdressers, lawyers, doctors etc. are not obliged to register at the Chambers

of Commerce. However, they are obliged to register at the Revenue Office, though the yearly

income of some will fall under the ‘income ceiling’ under which an enterprise/person will be

exempt from taxation. In the pilot study of 2004 and 2005, the Revenue Office was not included

in the questions. For this reason it is not impossible that in 2004 and 2005 some ‘informal’ sector

enterprises in the survey according to the criteria ‘not registered at the Chambers of Commerce’,

would in fact be considered ‘formal’ during the time they were surveyed according to the criteria

“registered at the RO”. The motivation for choosing the Chamber as the focus point of

registration was because all enterprises that are not registered at the Chamber are de facto beyond

all government control of all aspects pertaining to the activities of the enterprises (including

compliance to labour laws, insurance of the employees, taxation etc). However, this issue should

be made a local issue of discussion.

Persons are not always aware of their own employment status. The distinction between

permanent service and temporary service is believed not to be very clear to many persons in the

survey. In 2006 further investigation on this peculiarity will be carried out.

60

Last but not least, work in the informal sector is believed to take place mainly among people that

have a second job (Hussmann, 2002). However in the Labor Force Survey (LFSS) second or

third jobs are not measured as a concept. Consequently there may be an underestimation of the

actual total informal sector in the Antilles, since persons with second or third jobs are excluded

from the count. This issue will remain to be addressed in coming LFSS ( not 2006). It implies

restructuring the questionnaire of the LFSS.

2.1.4 Upcoming adaptations in the methodology of 2006

As described above due to the aim of the new methodology to count the total number of persons

who work informally, whether in a formal or in an informal sector enterprise some adaptations

have been made for the upcoming LFSSof 2006.

Employees will be exempt from the questions regarding the status of the enterprise and will only

be asked questions about their own labour agreements with their employer. This will result in a

total count of all informally employed employees in formal and in informal enterprises.

On the ‘employers’ side of the spectrum, to proxy the number of informally working employers,

self-employed, contributing family workers and casual workers, this category of persons will

only be asked questions regarding the status of their own enterprise and other factors that make

up the criteria ‘informal sector enterprise’. These include questions about the number of co

owners and contributing family workers working in the enterprise, if the enterprise is not a ‘one

person’ enterprise. Adding these persons to the total number of ‘employers’, will result in the

total number of ‘employers’ in informal sector enterprises.

Given a high level of confidentiality of the sample (the LFSS of Curaçao has a level of

confidentiality of 95 percent), the total number of ‘employers’ in the LFSS (the four categories

mentioned above) could also render the total number of informal sector enterprises if counting

only the number of employers, self-employed, own account workers and casual workers in the

LFSSof whom their enterprises comply to the criteria of ‘informal’.

Persons employed in households will be automatically included in the total informal sector,

because of the status of households (being automatically informal entities).

61

The question in the 2004 questionnaire for women who work in formal enterprises regarding the

risk they run of being dismissed if they should become pregnant, will be excluded from the

survey of 2006, since according to local government agencies this issue is not a reigning issue on

the labour market of the Antilles.

2.1.5 Short summary of the results

The informal sector in Curaçao, Bonaire and St. Maarten is comprised in majority of women.

In St. Maarten there are slightly more men in the informal sector than on the other islands. The

age distribution is such that the informal sector is made up particularly of persons older than

35 years. Most persons in the informal sector work 40 hours and longer per week and say they

are in permanent service. The share that earns 1000 guilders or less per month dominates in

Curaçao, while in Bonaire and St. Maarten a tendency exists for informality to manifest itself

among the mid to higher income groups (2000 guilders per month or more). Mentioned needs

to be however that at the time of the survey 1000 guilders was the legal minimum wage for 40

hour workweeks in Curaçao, while the amounts for Bonaire and St. Maarten fell in the 1001

2002. The Wholesale and Retail trade industry is the largest employer of informally employed

workers. In Bonaire there is also a high tendency for persons to be informally employed in the

Public sector. Informal work manifests itself particularly among unskilled workers and craft

workers, though it appears to manifest itself as well among clerks and service workers.

2.2 Size and structure of the informal sector in the Netherlands Antilles

The tables in section 2.2 all apply to the Total Informal Sector. Each of the tables describes a

variable. EMP stands for Total Employed Population and INF stands for the Total Informal

Sector

According to the definition of the informal sector, the total number of informally working

persons is subdivided in those employed in informal sector enterprises and those employed in

formal enterprises. The following descriptions refer to analyses done on the total number of

informally employed. In the next two subsections, the tables with the results for each of the two

subpopulations are presented separately. To compare the islands with each other the text

describes the structure of the total informal sector in all three island separately and not the

percentages in each category such as presented in the tables. This last approach was adopted to

serve analyses at the island level.

62

On the island level the shares of the informal sector to the total employment differ from island to

island. The highest share is in St. Maarten with approximately 34 percent. For Curaçao and

Bonaire the percentages are, respectively 21 and 23 percent (see table 1).

Table 2.1 Gender Curaçao 2005 Bonaire 2005 St. Maarten 2005

INF EMP % INF EMP % INF EMP %

Male 4481 25316 18 Male 471 2266 21 Male 3056 9714 31

Female 6362 26027 24 Female 611 2395 26 Female 3011 8359 36

Total 10843 51343 21 Total 1082 4661 23 Total 6067 18073 34

Women are more employed in the informal sector than men. This accounts for all three islands.

Nearly 60 percent of the informal sector in Curaçao consists of women. In Bonaire this is 56

percent and in St. Maarten the share is almost half.

Table 2.2 Age

Curaçao 2005 Bonaire 2005 St. Maarten 2005


15-24 567 2886 20 15-24 85 377 23 15-24 609 1401 43

25-34 1949 11160 17 25-34 274 974 28 25-34 1526 4781 32

35plus 8328 37296 22 35plus 724 3310 22 35plus 3932 11890 33


The results in the table above show that more than three quarter of the informal sector in Curaçao

is 35 years and older, in Bonaire this is 67 percent and in St.Maarten the share is 65 percent.

At this point it may be interesting to look at the development within the groups. When looking at

these percentages it appears that within the youth employed population almost just as many

young people work in the informal sector as in the other age groups. In St.Maarten the

percentage actually surpasses that in other age groups by 10 points.

Table 2.3 Education



First level 1725 4401 39 First level 161 452 36 First level 1053 3123 34

Second level Second level first Second level

first stage 4680 21065 22 stage 420 1977 21 first stage 2466 7199 34

Second level Second level Second level

second stage 2756 14963 18 second stage 345 26 second stage 1516 4545 33

Third level 1419 10173 14 Third level 131 781 17 Third level 882 2925 30

NR 263 741 NR 25 114 NR 150 281


63

Most of the informal sector is comprised of persons with secondary education

(MAVO/LBO/VSBO). This is 43 percent in Curaçao. Also in Bonaire this share is the highest,

namely 39 percent. In St.Maarten the share is 41 percent. Besides secondary level, a relatively

large percentage in Curaçao (25 percent) has higher secondary level (HAVO/MBO), in Bonaire

32 percent and in St. Maarten 25 percent.

Table 2.4 Industry

Curaçao 2005 Bonaire 2005

INF EMP % INF EMP %

Manufacturing/Electricity 840 4366 19 Manufacturing/Electricity 43 220 20

Construction 1235 3584 34 Construction 152 375 41

Whole sale, retail trade 2097 9841 21 Whole sale, retail trade 137 778 18

Hotels and Restaurants 529 4023 13 Hotels and Restaurants 119 795 15

Transportation, Storage,

Transportation, Storage, Communication 694 3080 23 Communication 67 290 23

Financial/Business services 1091 8654 13 Financial/Business services 107 476 22

Public administration/Education 916 5358 17 Public administration/Education 177 806 22

Health and Social Work 859 4409 19 Health and Social Work 161 408 39

Other Community, Social services 1174 5391 22 Other Community, Social services 59 368 16

Employed persons in private

Employed persons in private households 1175 2204 53 households 39 66 59

Other/unknown 232 432 0 Other/unknown 22 79 28

Total 10842 51342 21 Total 1082 4661 23

Table 2.5 Industry (continued)

St. Maarten 2005

INF EMP %

Manufacturing/Electricity

Construction

Whole sale, retail trade

Hotels and Restaurants


Communication

Financial/Business services

Public administration/Education

Health and Social Work

Other Community, Social services


households

Other/unknown

Total

213

495

1229

765

582

774

649

273

548

340

198

6066

714

1743

3772

2678

1380

2248

1944

596

2051

564

382

18072

30

28

33

29

42

34

33

46

27

60

52

34

Wholesale and Retail trade make up the largest share of the informal sector in Curaçao followed

by Households. In Bonaire, on the other hand, it is Public administration and Education that

comprises the largest percentage (16 percent), followed by Health and social work (15 percent).

Similar to Curaçao, also in St.Maarten the informal sector is made up of predominately employed

64

in the Wholesale and Retail Trade industry (20 percent), followed by the Hospitality industry (13

percent) and the Financial/ Business services (also 13 percent).

Table 2.6 Status in employment

Curaçao 2005 Bonaire 2005 St.Maarten 2005


Employer/ Employer/ Employer/

Selfemployed 1133 5666 20 Selfemployed 49 524 9 Selfemployed 635 2264 28

Permanent service 4489 33275 13 Permanent service 553 2758 20 Permanent service 3757 12226 31

Temporary service 1088 3211 34 Temporary service 117 238 49 Temporary service 763 1390 55

Casual work 3099 5852 53 Casual work 176 499 35 Casual work 176 579 30

Contract 766 2619 29 Contract 143 551 26 Contract 614 1343 46

Other/unknown 269 720 37 Other/unknown 44 90 49 Other/unknown 122 271 45


The informal sector in Curaçao is made up for 41 percent of persons who say they are in

permanent service, followed by casual workers. In Bonaire the distribution is the same, while in

St. Maarten a larger share is in temporary service than in the other islands. The relatively large

number of informal of employers/self-employed (10 percent in Curaçao and St. Maarten and 5

percent in Bonaire) can be attributed to the number of informal enterprises.

Table 2.7 Occupation



Legislators/Managers 577 6069 10 Legislators/Managers 57 653 9 Legislators/Managers 652 2310 28

Professionals 906 4872 19 Professionals 84 308 27 Professionals 313 1098 29

Assistant Assistant Assistant

professionals 810 5763 14 professionals 109 562 19 professionals 547 1617 34

Supervisors 272 1765 15 Supervisors 6 193 3 Supervisors 208 687 30

Clerks 1196 8510 14 Clerks 152 656 23 Clerks 989 2775 36

Service providers 1618 8255 20 Service providers 210 851 25 Service providers 1274 3489 37

Trade and craft Trade and craft Trade and craft

workers 1886 5666 33 workers 162 530 31 workers 513 1925 27

Operators 565 2351 24 Operators 69 178 39 Operators 307 898 34

Unskilled workers 2845 7357 39 Unskilled workers 198 654 30 Unskilled workers 1094 2896 38

Other/NR 168 734 Other/NR 35 76 Other/NR 170 378


The biggest share of the informal sector is comprised of unskilled workers followed by trade and

craft workers in Curaçao and service providers in Bonaire. In St. Maarten on the other hand,

service providers are in first place, followed by unskilled workers.

65

Table 2.8 Informal employment by hours of work



4-25 3278 6936 47 4-25 209 590 35 4-25 972 1729 56

26-39 834 3910 21 26-39 158 395 40 26-39 574 1362 42

40 4745 32089 15 40 563 2817 20 40 2914 9550 31

41plus 1070 6662 16 41plus 126 729 17 41plus 1530 5220 29

nr 917 1746 nr 26 130 nr 77 212 36


Remarkable is that in all the islands most persons in the informal sector work 40 hours a week,

followed by longer than 40 hours a week (almost 10 percent). However, within the groups, it is

the category ‘less than 25 hours’ which has the largest share of informal workers, almost 50

percent in Curaçao, more than half in St. Maarten and 35 percent in Bonaire.

Table 2.9 Informal employment by monthly income



0-1000 4413 10082 44 0-1000 268 773 35 0-1000 1192 2340 51

1001-2000 2918 16387 18 1001-2000 507 1856 27 1001-2000 2387 7264 33

2000plus 2781 22283 12 2001-3000 267 1839 15 2001-3000 2368 8034 29

nr 730 2589 nr 40 192 nr 120 435


Informality manifests itself mainly among the employed who earn comparatively little income

per month (0-1000 guilders). In Curaçao more than 40 percent has an income not higher than

1000 guilders. St.Maarten this is approximately 20 percent. It is worth mentioning that this is not

the largest share. The largest share is made of persons that have a medium income between 1001

2000 guilders per month (39 percent), directly followed by the higher income group that also

makes up 39 percent of the informal sector. Like in St.Maarten, in Bonaire the largest share of

the informal sector consists of persons with a medium income between 1000 and 2000 guilders

per month (47 percent), followed by 1000-2000 in second place.

2.2.1 Informally employed population in Formal enterprises

The tables in this section all relate to the informally employed population working in Formal

enterprises. Each table represents a description of a variable. INF-F stands for informally

employed in formal enterprises, EMP-F stands for total population employed in formal

enterprises (excluding employers, self-employed, contributing family workers, casual workers

and persons employed in Households in Agriculture industry). The figures in this section include

persons who responded ‘no’ to the question “Is the firm registered at the Chamber of Commerce

66

or does it have a ‘ventvergunning’ (= permission to sell on the streets?)”, and including

response ‘don’t know’ to this question (were already excluded from the total number of persons

in informal enterprises).

Table 2.10 Gender


INF-F EMP-F % INF-F EMP-F % INF-F EMP-F %

Male 2301 21013 11 Male 338 1978 17 Male 2429 8688 28



Table 2.11 Age



15-24 409 2494 16 15-24 77 317 24 15-24 542 1287 42

25-34 1228 9691 13 25-34 238 889 27 25-34 1342 4506 30

35plus 4304 31075 14 35plus 548 2957 19 35plus 2991 10419 29


Table 2.12 Education





first stage 2407 17553 14 first stage 307 1736 18 first stage 1994 6477 31


second stage 1640 12988 13 second stage 289 1208 24 second stage 1390 4287 32

Third level plus 1219 9674 13 Third level 125 750 17 Third level 867 2816 31

NR 215 535 40 NR 27 90 NR 112 223


67

Table 2.13 Economic Activity

Curaçao 2005 Bonaire 2005 St. Maarten 2005 INF-F EMP-F % INF-F EMP-F % INF-F EMP-F %

Manufacturing/ 22 192 11 Electricity 488 4043 12 Manufacturing/Electricity Manufacturing/Electricity 198 644 31

Construction 241 2114 11 Construction 76 263 29 Construction 322 1426 23

Whole sale, retail, trade 1327 8621 15 Whole sale, retail, trade 129 725 18 Whole sale, retail, trade 1111 3552 31

Hotels and Restaurants 351 3514 10 Hotels and Restaurants 119 752 16 Hotels and Restaurants 649 2594 25

Transportation, Storage, Transportation, Storage, Transportation, Storage, 45 255 18 Communications 287 2447 12 Communications Communications 411 1148 36

Financial/Business Financial/Business Financial/Business 99 442 22 services 921 8063 11 services services 763 2237 34

Public Public Public 170 793 21administration/Education 805 5294 15 administration/Education administration/Education 649 1944 33

Health and Social Work 712 4231 17 Health and Social Work 155 388 40 Health and Social Work 263 572 46

Other Community, Other Community, Other Community, 39 339 12 Social services 770 4868 16 Social services Social services 500 1958 26

Employed persons in Employed persons in Employed persons in

private households 20 0 0 private households 0 0 0 private households 0 0 0






Employer/Selfemployed 21 3121 1 Employer/Selfemployed 0 406 0 Employer/Selfemployed 0 1300 0







68



INF-F EMP-F % INF-F EMP F % INF-F EMP-F %

Managers/Legislotors 199 4933 4 Legislators/Managers 35 577 6 Legislators/Managers 324 1841 18


Assistant Assistant

professionals 775 5597 14 Assistant professionals 109 549 20 professionals 547 1598 34




Trade and craft Trade and craft

workers 570 3702 15 Trade and craft workers 91 410 22 workers 449 1688 27



Other/NR 87 535 16 Other/NR 36 42 86 Other/NR 51 191


Table 2.16 Hours of work



4-25 1187 4050 29 4-25 129 404 32 4-25 550 1166 47

26-39 460 3260 14 26-39 128 345 37 26-39 334 1062 31

40 3547 29632 12 40 499 2655 19 40 2719 9123 30

41plus 625 5650 11 41plus 100 656 15 41plus 1246 4743 26

nr 122 668 nr 7 103 nr 26 118


Table 2.17 Gross monthly income



0-1000 1408 5851 24 0-1000 155 519 30 0-1000 588 1501 39

1001-2000 1962 14698 13 1001-2000 432 1698 25 1001-2000 2043 6678 31

2000plus 2315 20997 11 2001-3000 242 1787 14 2001-3000 2174 7700 28

nr 256 1714 nr 33 159 nr 71 333


2.2.2 Employed population in informal sector enterprises

The tables in this chapter all relate to the population employed in informal sector enterprises.

Each table represents a description of a variable. INF-I stands for employed population in

informal enterprises EMP stands for total employed population. Because the total number of

informal sector enterprises is not known (as mentioned earlier, a relatively large percentage of

persons in the survey can’t give this information about the enterprise) and consequently neither

69

the total number of persons employed in these enterprises, the total employed population is used

as a benchmark for comparison between the islands. Table 2.18 Gender


INF-I EMP % INF-I EMP % INF-I EMP %

Male 2180 25316 9 Male 133 2266 6 Male 627 9714 6



Table 2.19 Age



15-24 158 2886 5 15-24 8 377 2 15-24 67 1401 5

25-34 721 11160 6 25-34 36 974 4 25-34 184 4781 4

35plus 4024 37296 11 35plus 176 3310 5 35plus 940 11890 8


Table 2.20 Highest level of education




Second level Second level first Second level first

first stage 2273 21065 11 stage 113 1977 6 stage 472 7199 7




NR 48 741 NR 0 114 NR 38 281


Table 2.21 Economic activity


INF-I EMP % INF-I EMP %



Whole sale, retail, trade 699 9841 7 Whole sale, retail, trade 8 778 1


Transportation, Storage, Communications 336 3080 11 Transportation, Storage, Communications 22 290 8





Employed persons in private households 1864 2204 85 Employed persons in private households 39 66 59

Other/unknown 145 432 0 Other/unknown 13 79

Total 4903 51342 10 Total 220 4661 5

70


St.Maarten 2005

INF-I EMP %


Construction

Whole sale, retail, trade


Transportation, Storage, Communications





Employed persons in private households

Other/unknown

Total

15

173

118

116

171

11

0

10

48

340

189

1191

714

1743

3772

2678

1380

2248

1944

596

2051

564

382

18072

2

10

3

4

12

0

0

2

2

60

49

7





Self-employed 1112 5666 20 Self-employed 49 524 9 Self-employed 635 2264 28























71




4-25 2091 6936 30 4-25 80 590 14 4-25 422 1729 24

26-39 374 3910 10 26-39 30 395 8 26-39 240 1362 18

40 1198 32089 4 40 64 2817 2 40 195 9550 2

41plus 445 6662 7 41plus 26 729 4 41plus 284 5220 5

nr 794 1746 nr 21 130 nr 51 212





0-1000 3005 10082 30 0-1000 113 773 15 0-1000 604 2340 26

1001-2000 956 16387 6 1001-2000 75 1856 4 1001-2000 344 7264 5

2000plus 466 22283 2 2001-3000 25 1839 1 2001-3000 194 8034 2

nr 474 2589 nr 7 192 nr 50 435


2.2.3 Informally employed population in Formal enterprises

The tables in this chapter all relate to the informally employed population working in Formal

enterprises. Each table represents a description of a variable. INF stands for informally

employed; EMP stands for total population employed in formal enterprises (excluding

employers, self-employed, contributing family workers, casual workers and persons employed in

Households in the Agricultural industry). The figures in this section are excluding persons who

responded question 42=4, and including response question 42=5 (where already excluded from

the total number of persons in informal enterprises).

Table 2.27 Gender



Gender

Male 2301 21013 11 Male 338 1978 17 Male 2429 8688 28



Table 2.28 Age


INF EMP % INF EMP % INF EMP % Age

15-24 409 2494 16 15-24 77 317 24 15-24 542 1287 42

25-34 1228 9691 13 25-34 238 889 27 25-34 1342 4506 30

35plus 4304 31075 14 35plus 548 2957 19 35plus 2991 10419 29


72

Table 2.29 Education



Education


Second level first Second level first Second level first

stage 2407 17553 14 stage 307 1736 18 stage 1994 6477 31



Third level plus 1219 9674 13 Third level 125 750 17 Third level 867 2816 31

NR 215 535 40 NR 27 90 NR 112 223





Manufacturing/Electricity 488 4043 12 Manufacturing/Electricity 22 134 16 Manufacturing/Electricity 198 644 31

Construction 241 2114 11 Construction 76 40 190 Construction 322 1426 23

Whole sale, retail, trade 1327 8621 15 Whole sale, retail, trade 129 263 49 Whole sale, retail, trade 1111 3552 31

Hotels and Restaurants 351 3514 10 Hotels and Restaurants 119 725 16 Hotels and Restaurants 649 2594 25

Transportation, Storage, Transportation, Storage, Transportation, Storage,

Communications 287 2447 12 Communications 45 752 6 Communications 411 1148 36

Financial/Business Financial/Business Financial/Business

services 921 8063 11 services 99 255 39 services 763 2237 34

Public Public Public

administration/Education 805 5294 15 administration/Education 170 442 38 administration/Education 649 1944 33

Health and Social Work 712 4231 17 Health and Social Work 155 793 20 Health and Social Work 263 572 46

Other Community, Social Other Community, Other Community,

services 770 4868 16 Social services 39 388 10 Social services 500 1958 26

Employed persons in Employed persons in Employed persons in

private households 20 0 0 private households 0 339 0 private households 0 0 0






Employer/Selfemployed 21 3121 1 Employer/Selfemployed 0 406 0 Employer/Selfemployed 0 1300 0







73




Managers/Legislotors 199 4933 4 Legislators/Managers 35 577 6 Legislators/Managers 324 1841 18


Assistant professionals 775 5597 14 Assistant professionals 109 549 20 Assistant professionals 547 1598 34




Trade & craft workers 570 3702 15 Trade and craft workers 91 410 22 Trade & craft workers 449 1688 27



Other/NR 87 535 16 Other/NR 36 42 86 Other/NR 51 191





4-25 1187 4050 29 4-25 129 404 32 4-25 550 1166 47

26-39 460 3260 14 26-39 128 345 37 26-39 334 1062 31

40 3547 29632 12 40 499 2655 19 40 2719 9123 30

41plus 625 5650 11 41plus 100 656 15 41plus 1246 4743 26

nr 122 668 nr 7 103 nr 26 118


Table 2.34 Gross monthly incom



Gross monthly income

0-1000 1408 5851 24 0-1000 155 519 30 0-1000 588 1501 39

1001 1001 1001

2000 1962 14698 13 2000 432 1698 25 2000 2043 6678 31

2001 2001

2000plus 2315 20997 11 3000 242 1787 14 3000 2174 7700 28

nr 256 1714 nr 33 159 nr 71 333


2.2.4 Employed population in informal sector enterprises

The tables in this chapter all relate to the population employed in informal sector enterprises.

Each table represents a description of a variable. INF stands for employed population in

informal enterprises EMP stands for total employed population. Because the total number of

informal sector enterprises is not known (as mentioned earlier, a relatively large percentage of

persons in the survey can’t give this information about the enterprise) and consequently also not

74

the total number of persons employed in these enterprises, the total employed population is used

as a benchmark for comparison between the islands.

Table 2.35 Gender



Male 2180 25316 9 Male 133 2266 6 Male 627 9714 6



Table 2.36 Age



15-24 158 2886 5 15-24 8 377 2 15-24 67 1401 5

25-34 721 11160 6 25-34 36 974 4 25-34 184 4781 4

35plus 4024 37296 11 35plus 176 3310 5 35plus 940 11890 8


Table 2.37 Highest level of education




Second level first Second level first Second level first

stage 2273 21065 11 stage 113 1977 6 stage 472 7199 7




NR 48 741 NR 0 114 NR 38 281




INF EMP % INF EMP %



Whole sale, retail, trade 699 9841 7 Whole sale, retail, trade 8 778 1



Transportation, Storage, Communications 336 3080 11 Communications 22 290 8






Employed persons in private households 1864 2204 85 households 39 66 59

Other/unknown 145 432 0 Other/unknown 13 79

Total 4903 51342 10 Total 220 4661 5

75


St. Maarten 2005

INF EMP %


Construction

Whole sale, retail, trade


Transportation, Storage, Communications





Employed persons in private households

Other/unknown

Total

15

173

118

116

171

11

0

10

48

340

189

1191

714

1743

3772

2678

1380

2248

1944

596

2051

564

382

18072

2

10

3

4

12

0

0

2

2

60

49

7





Self-employed 1112 5666 20 Self-employed 49 524 9 Self-employed 635 2264 28























76

Table 2.42 Hours of work Curaçao 2005 Bonaire 2005 St. Maarten 2005


4-25 2091 6936 30 4-25 80 590 14 4-25 422 1729 24

26-39 374 3910 10 26-39 30 395 8 26-39 240 1362 18

40 1198 32089 4 40 64 2817 2 40 195 9550 2

41plus 445 6662 7 41plus 26 729 4 41plus 284 5220 5

nr 794 1746 nr 21 130 nr 51 212





0-1000 3005 10082 30 0-1000 113 773 15 0-1000 604 2340 26

1001

2000 956 16387 6 1001-2000 75 1856 4 1001-2000 344 7264 5

2000plus 466 22283 2 2001-3000 25 1839 1 2001-3000 194 8034 2

nr 474 2589 nr 7 192 nr 50 435


77

3. Report on Migration

Migration in the Netherlands Antilles studied by means of the Caribbean Intra-regional

Migration Rapid Assessment Methodology (CIMRAM).

Ursula, J .; Jansen, J.; Van der Dijs, N. (2006)

3.1 Introduction

The following is the result of an intent to portrait the situation regarding regional labour

migration to the Netherlands Antilles, with a focus on the island of Curaçao. For this purpose the

Caribbean Intra-regional Rapid Assessment Methodology was used, which was provided by ILO

and developed for researching migration within the Caribbean region.

3.1.1 Rapid Assessment Methodology

The Rapid Assessment Methodology (RAM) consists of two main modules, namely the

Exploratory Module and the (so-called) Enterprise Module. In the case of the Netherlands

Antilles only the exploratory phase was necessary for this assessment. For the enterprise module

there was recent data available at the Central Bureau of Statistics from LFSS of 2004 and 2005.

The exploratory phase included a desk review in which all kinds of relevant information and

policy documents were studied. This information was further completed and analyzed based on

interviews with focus groups, individual labour migrants and consuls of the official diplomatic

representation of some migrant groups on the island of Curaçao.

3.1.2 Collected information

Quantitative as well as qualitative data were collected. The quantitative data were obtained from

existing statistics on the migrant population; migrant employment, age, gender and education

level. Relevant information is obtained through review of literature concerning migration

policies. The qualitative data were collected through interviews with focus groups (enforcement

authorities, labour and social policy agencies, non governmental organizations, employers and

employment agencies and labour unions), consulates and migrants.

78

3.2 Desk Review

3.2.1 Statistics

This section will review the statistics on migrants in the Netherlands Antilles as a whole and of

each island separately, in the light of the following topics:

Population by age and gender, demographics

Migration rate, migrant population by nationality, age and gender

Labour Force, by age and gender

Employed population by industry, education level

Migrant population by industry

For accuracy of information it is important to inform that the data provided in this section about

migrants are mostly derived from records of registered people with a foreign nationality. The

term ‘migrant’ is used in the statistical section arbitrarily for a person with a foreign nationality.

However, a migrant as defined in Glossary on Migration (ILO, 2004), is a ‘non-national’ that has

moved into a country to stay. The discrepancy of how the term migrant is used in this section lies

in the fact that there are ‘locals’, that were born before 1985 in the Netherlands Antilles from a

foreign father and who are registered as foreigners; this is also true for their children and

grandchildren if they were born before 1985. According to a law issued in the Netherlands

Antilles in 1950 and valid till 1985, ‘a person born in the Netherlands Antilles from a foreign

father automatically obtains the nationality from his/her father’. These persons are enlisted by the

Island Registry as foreigners unless they have applied for a Dutch nationality.

3.2.2 The Netherlands Antilles

3.2.2.1 Population The population figures of the Netherlands Antilles have oscillated over the last 14 years. There

has been a slow growth from the year 1991, with a peak of 194,499 inhabitants in the year 1998,

followed by a gradual drop, reaching the year 2002 with a total population of 172,586. Since then

the population has moved up again to 185,513 in 2005 (http://cbs.an/labour/labour_tables.asp,

2006).

79


160000 165000 170000 175000 180000 185000 190000 195000 200000

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

Inha

bita

nts


Source: CBS 2006

Statistics show a natural increase (balance between live births and deaths) of an average of 1,464

inhabitants, from 1998 through 2002, indicating no impact whatsoever on the population total

through these years (http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006). However, statistical

data on registered arrivals and departures illustrate a negative net migration in the years 1998

through 2002, which indicates a direct relation with the observed gradual drop in the population

figures (http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006).

Population Netherlands Antilles by Age and Gender

The age and gender distribution of the overall population of the Netherlands Antilles shows the

following structure in the year 2005:

Age and Gender Distribution N.A. 2005

age range male female total %

0-14 21446 21124 42570 23

15-64 57660 67441 125101 67

65+ 7443 10399 17842 10

total 86549 98964 185513 100

Source: CBS 2006

Females surpass males by 12,415; 1,143 females per 1000 males and 875 males per 1000 females

(http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006).

Migrant Population Netherlands Antilles

The migrant population of the Netherlands Antilles of 2001 totals 26,403 inhabitants, which

constitutes 14 % of the total population. According to Population and Housing Census 2001, the

population consists of twelve major nationalities (Dutch excluded). The five largest groups are:

- Dominicans 22% (5,794)

80

- Haitians 13% (3,475)

- Jamaicans 7% (1,950)

- Colombians 7% (1,896)

- Guyanese 4% (1,182)

The migrant population of the Netherlands Antilles totals in 2001 an estimated 26,403, which

constitutes 15 % of the total population. These data, however, are not all together accurate, as

they represent a sum up of the foreign nationalities that were reported in the Census 2001. As

mentioned earlier in the text having a foreign nationality does not automatically imply that a

person is a migrant. On the other hand, these data illustrate to a great extent the composition of

the migrant population. Updated statistical data of the migrant population and its demographics

are not yet available.

Migrant Population Age and Gender

The age distribution among the migrants is 18% in the age group 0-14, 78% in the age group

15-64 and 3% in the age group 65+ 3 %.(Population and Housing Census, 2001).

81


Total Population by nationality, age group and sex

Nationality

age group

0 - 14 15 - 64 65+ total

male female total male female total male female total male female total

Chinese 60 36

0,2%

(96) 195 172

0,3%

(367) 7 7

< 0,1%

(14) 262 215

0,3%

(477)

Colombian 145 150

0,6%

(295) 476 1095

1,3%

(1571) 8 22

0,2%

(30) 629 1267

1%

(1896)

Dominican

Republic 421 444

2%

(865) 1591 3257

4,1%

(4848) 19 62

0,5%

(81) 2031 3763

3,3%

(5794)

Guyanese 115 118

0,5%

(233) 471 475

0,8%

(946) 2 1

< 0,1%

(3) 588 594

0,7%

(1182)

Haitian 335 371

1,6%

(706) 1614 1124

2,3%

(2738) 22 9

0,2%

(31) 1971 1504

2%

(3475)

Indian 80 60

0,3%

(140) 429 271

0,5%

(700) 8 15

0,1%

(23) 517 346

0,5%

(863)

Jamaican 149 179

0,7%

(328) 563 1049

1,4%

(1612) 1 9

< 0,1%

(10) 713 1237

1%

(1950)

Dutch 19059 18538

88,4%

(37597) 44785 51456

82%

(96241) 6524 8888

95%

(15412) 70368 78882

85%

(149250)

Portuguese 23 22

0,1%

(45) 162 157

0,3%

(319) 71 77

0,9%

(148) 256 256

0,3%

(512)

Surinam 95 116

0,4%

(211) 287 309

0,5%

(596) 6 9

< 0,1%

(15) 388 434

0,5%

(822)

American

(U.S.) 129 121

0,5%

(250) 410 388

0,7%

(798) 52 60

0,7%

(112) 591 569

0,7%

(1160)

English

(U.K.) 56 53

0,2%

(109) 330 280

0,5%

(610) 24 44

0,4%

(68) 410 377

0,4%

(787)

Venezuelan 128 140

0,6%

(268) 368 387

0,6%

(755) 22 30

0,3%

(52) 518 557

0,6%

(1075)

Others 526 522

2%

(1048) 2158 1960

3,5%

(4118) 70 84

0,9%

(154) 2754 2566

3%

(5320)

Not

reported 160 165

0,7%

(325) 332 361

0,6%

(693) 33 39

0,4%

(72) 525 565

0,6%

(1090)

Total 21481 21035

100%

(42516) 54171 62741

100%

(116912) 6869 9356

100%

(16225) 82521 93132

100%

(175653)

Population and Housing Census 2001

The total number of females is slightly larger than that of males in most age groups.

Female Colombians, Dominicans and Jamaicans in the age range 14-65 tend to be twice the

number of their male countrymen. For the Indian group the contrary is true, the number of males

is higher than the number of females and also Haitian males slightly surpass the females (Census,

2001).

82

Labour Force Netherlands Antilles

The working age population of the Netherlands Antilles consists of 125.101 people in the year

2005. (www.cbs.an/population/population_b3.asp). There are no data available of the total labour

force of the Netherlands Antilles as such.

Employed Population Netherlands Antilles

Employed Population Netherlands Antilles by education

The distribution of the employed population by education level is as follows:

Population Netherlands Antilles by education Level

Bonaire Curaçao St. Maarten Saba St. Eustatius Total %

elementary education 578 6025 2859 134 226 9822 13.9

secondary ed. 1st stage 1995 20910 6060 230 406 29601 42.0

secondary ed. 2nd stage 954 12608 3623 124 207 17516 24.8

higher education 720 8056 1872 88 165 10901 15.4

unknown 87 1457 999 42 34 2619 3.7

Total 4334 49056 15413 598 1038 70439 100

Source: CBS Labour Force Sample Survey, 2002, 2001

Migrant Labour force by Age and Gender

The migrant labor force in the Netherlands Antilles is approximately 78 % (20,671) of the total

migrant population over the year 2001 (derived from working age population in Census, 2001).

However, it is important to consider that the population has increased over the last three years

and that the migration figures may differ. As mentioned before, related updated statistical data

are not available yet. The Census has registered 45% (9,386) migrant males and 55% (11,285)

migrant females in the working age 15-64.

Employed Population by Economic Activity

The Labour Force Sample Survey (LFSS) shows that the employed population by economic

activity amounts to 69,663 in the year 2001 (CBS, 2001). The distribution of the employed

population of the Netherlands Antilles (all five islands) by 2001, shows that the five industries

with the largest employed population are:

wholesale and retail trade 8 % (12,847)

hospitality 10 % (6,892)

public administration 8 % (6,188)

business services 9 % (5,934)

83

construction 8 % (5,507)

Information on the employed migrant population by economic activity is not yet available.

3.2.3 Curaçao

3.2.3.1 Population Curacao Curaçao has an estimated population in the year 2005 of 135,822 inhabitants

(http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006). The population is composed of 110

nationalities (Island registry, 2000-2005).

The population has been mostly steady through the years 1991-1995, with a slight increase in the

years 1997 and 1998, then with a sharp decrease from 1999 through 2002 and then again with an

increase in 2005. Population Curacao

Curaçao

115000 120000 125000 130000 135000 140000 145000 150000

1991

19

93

1995

19

97

1999

20

01

2003

20

05

Inha

bita

nts

Curaçao

Source: CBS Population 2006

84

Population Curaçao by age group The age distribution of the population of Curaçao in 2005 per age group is as follows:

Population by age

age range total %

0-14 29,932 22%

15-64 90,296 66%

65+ 15,594 11%

Source: CBS Population

Figures from 1995-2005 related to age range and gender show a decrease in the age range 0-14

and 15-64, but an increase in the age range 65+ over the years. The latter, according to CBS

LFSS (2004) is due to a natural flow from one age group to another.

There is a decrease in the figures of males and females in the age range 0-14, 15-64 but an

increase for both sexes in the age range 65+. The females are predominant in all age ranges with

exception of the younger age 0-14 (http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006). The

next chart shows the age and gender distribution between 1995 and 2005.

Population Curacao

0 20000 40000 60000 80000

100000

mal

e

fem

ale

mal

e

fem

ale

mal

e

fem

ale

1995 total 2001 total 2005 total

Year

Inha

bita

nts youth 0-14

adult 15-64

elderly 65+


The migration figures from 1990 through 1996 show a positive balance, while the years 1997

through 2000 present a negative balance, with a peak in the emigration figures in the year 2001.

From 2001 up to present the migration balance has been positive.

85

3.2.3.2 Migrant Population Curaçao The Census 2001 reports 13 nationalities. The migrant population (the Dutch nationality

excluded, as this includes locals and Dutch Europeans) is derived from this list on which the

migrants constitute approximately 7 % (8,718) of the total population.

The five largest groups that have grown significantly since 2001 are:

Dominicans: 25% (2,139); almost twice as many females as males; this group has

increased in the year 2005 to 4,071

Colombians: 7% (1,458); females more than doubles the males; this group has increased in

the year 2005 to 4,222

Venezuelans: 9 % (749), females exceed males in number; in 2005 this group has grown to

a number of 2,021

Haitians: 5 % (458); in this group males surpass females in number; this group totals up to

2,481 in the year 2005

Jamaicans: 5 % (418); females more than doubles the males; this group amounts to 1090 in

the year 2005

86

Curaçao

Total population by nationality, age group and sex

Nationality

age group

0 – 14 15 - 64 65+ Total

male female Total male female total male female total male female total

Chinese 44 23

0,2%

(67) 118 108

0,3%

(226) 7 7

< 0,1%

(14) 169 138

0,2%

(307)

Colombian 106 110

0,7%

(216) 327 887

1,4%

(1214) 7 21

0,2%

(28) 440 1018

1%

(1458)

Dominican

Republic 154 181

1%

(335) 368 1382

2%

(1750) 9 45

0,3%

(54) 531 1608

1,6%

(2139)

Guyanese 16 16

0,1%

(32) 60 84

0,2%

(144) 1 -

< 0,1%

(1) 77 100

0,1%

(177)

Haitian 27 26

0,2%

(53) 215 183

0,5%

(398) 3 4

< 0,1%

(7) 245 213

0,4%

(458)

Indian 28 27

0,2%

(55) 144 114

0,3%

(258) 5 4

< 0,1%

(9) 177 145

0,2%

(322)

Jamaican 34 43

0,3%

(77) 54 284

0,4%

(338) - 3

< 0,1%

(3) 88 330

0,3%

(418)

Dutch 14928 14372

95%

(29300) 36515 42495

92%

(79010) 5708 7891

96%

(13599) 57151 64758

93%

(121909)

Portuguese 22 22

0,1%

(44) 146 155

0,4%

(301) 71 77

1%

(148) 239 254

0,3%

(493)

Surinam 40 49

0,3%

(89) 155 165

0,4%

(320) 5 7

< 0,1%

(12) 200 221

0,3%

(421)

American

(U.S.) 34 26

0,2%

(60) 58 74

0,1%

(132) 6 18

0,2%

(24) 98 118

0,2%

(216)

English

(U.K.) 3 4

< 0,1%

(7) 27 36

< 0,1%

(63) 8 29

0,3%

(37) 38 69

< 0,1%

(107)

Venezuelan 78 86

0,5%

(164) 246 289

0,6%

(535) 21 29

0,4%

(50) 345 404

0,6%

(749)

Others 57 43

0,3%

(100) 298 310

0,7%

(608) 30 51

0,6%

(81) 385 404

0,6%

(789)

Not

reported 96 98

0,6%

(194) 200 210

0,5%

(410) 30 30

0,4%

(60) 326 338

0,5%

(664)

Total 15667 15126

100%

(30793) 38931 46776 85707 5911 8216

100%

(14127) 60509 70118

100%

(130627)

Source: Population and Housing Census 2001

Other groups, although small in number, that have grown significantly till the year 2005 are:

Chinese, Ecuadorians, Guyanese, Peruvians and Lebanese (Island Registry, 2005). A possible

explanation for the considerable differences in all migrant populations between 2001 and 2005

are the different measurement methods used. The 2001 census interviewed families at home

while the 2005 figures are based on the population registry.

87

Migrant Population by age and gender

The migrant population distributed according to three age ranges and gender, is as follows:

Migrant Population by age and gender

age range male female

0-14 8% (739) 9% (754)

15-64 28% (2416) 49% (4281)

65+ 2% (203) 4% (325)


The females are predominant in all three age groups: 61% (5,360).

Registered and Naturalized Migrants Curaçao 1991-2005. The Island Registry enlists in 2005,

64 countries of which approximately 11 % (2,448) of the total population (Dutch nationality

excluded) were registered and naturalized in Curaçao between 1991 and 2005. Out of this list, the

ten countries with the largest numbers were selected (the percentage is calculated on the grand

total of all registered and naturalized inhabitants):

Dominican Republic 28 % (693)

Colombia 15 % (367)

Surinam 12 % (286)

China 10 % (256)

Venezuela 8 % (185)

India 4 % (102)

Haiti 4% (97)

Jamaica 4 % (94)

Lebanon 3 % (65)

Guyana 2% (43)

3.2.3.3 Labour Force Curaçao The labour force of Curaçao constitutes in the year 2005 a number of 62,735, a slight increase in

comparison to previous year. The participation rate (labour force divided by total population) in

the year 2005 is 46.3%. The overall employed population in the year 2005 is 37.9 % of the total

employed population (51,343). The unemployment rate is 18.2%, which are 11,392 unemployed

people (http://cbs.an/labour/labour_tables.asp, 2006).

88

Labour Force

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000

1997

1998

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Year

Labour Force

Empl. Pop.

Unempl. Pop.

Source: CBS Labour 2006

Labour Force Curaçao by age and gender

The labour force and the participation rate for the year 2005 within each age range (CBS LFSS,

2005) are as follows:

Labour Force by age Curacao

age range Total Participation rate

15-24 5,329 30.0%

25-34 13,991 87.7%

35-44 19,498 87.3%

45-54 16,466 80.0%

55+ 7,626 25.8%

Source: CBS LFSS 2005

The male labour force (2005) totals up to 49% (30,543) which is 1,786 less than the female

labour force (2005) which amounts to 51% (32,192). In previous years the ratio has been more or

less similar (CBS LFSS, 2004).

Migrant labour Force Curaçao The working age migrant population (Census, 2001) is 8 % (6,697) of the total working age

population in 2001.

The Employed Population Curaçao by Economic Activity

The total employed population by economic activity (CBS LFSS, 2006) amounts in 2005 to

51,343 and is presented in a list of 15 sectors.

The ranking of the five largest sectors are:

- wholesale and retail 18 % (9,671)

- public administration 9 % (4,929)

89

- real estate 9 % (4,684)

- health / social work 8 % (4,413)

- manufacturing 8 % (4,098)

(http://cbs.an/labour/labour_tables.asp, 2006).

The Employed Population Curaçao by level of Education

This aspect is divided by CBS LFSS (2002) in five categories with the following figures:

- Elementary education 12% (6,025)

- secondary education 1st stage 43% (20,910)

- secondary education 2nd stage 26% (12,608)

- higher education 16% (8,056)

- unknown 3% (1,457)

Employed Migrant Population Curaçao

The CBS LFSS, in Modus Statistisch Magazine (2003), reports increasing numbers of migrants

involved in unskilled labour over the years 2001-2003. The percentage of these migrants of the

total employed population in unskilled labour for 2001-2003 are presented next:

- 2001 26% (1,595)

- 2002 50% (2,810)

- 2003 57% (3,463)

Earlier analysis of the LFSS (CBS, 2003) in relation to the unskilled migrant employed

population reaches the conclusion that there is a great discrepancy between demand and offer of

unskilled labour. All the same the vacancies remain difficult to fill. While the percentage of the

local unemployed population remains high, the unskilled migrant employed population has

increased in time. The obtained data in the CBS study (2003) were not sufficient to explain the

above mentioned discrepancy.

Data obtained from the CBS LFSS over the year 2004 show a 27% (9,812) working migrants out

of the total employed population by economic position (36,947), a difference of 161 with the

previous year. The distribution of this group is as follows:

- employer 6% (472)

- entrepreneur (small business) 12% (1,191)

- wage earner (permanent service) 49% (4,818)

- wage earner (temporarily) 7% (653)

- part time jobs 19% (1,912)

- contract worker 6% (628)

90

- others 1% (128)

Employed Migrant Population by Gender and Education Level

The CBS census of 2001 registers 51% working males (4,957) and 49% working females

(4,764). Overall, male migrant workers with a job have a higher education level than females. At

elementary education level the number of female workers is almost double that of the males. At

secondary education level the numbers are more or less similar. At a higher education level the

number of males is significantly higher than that of females.

Working migrants by Education level 2001

Education level male % female % total

elementary education 597 39 940 61 1537

secundaire ed. 1st stage 1235 49 1284 51 2519

secundaire ed. 2nd stage 1107 50 1124 50 2231

higher ed 1st stage 1028 57 764 43 1792

higher ed. 2nd stage 740 69 335 31 1075

nr/na 250 44 317 56 567

Source: Census 2001

Employed Migrant Population by Industry

Out of a list of 16 economic activities (CBS Census 1992), the five sectors with the highest

percentage of the total employed migrant population by industry are presented:

- wholesale and retail trade 25%

- hotels and restaurants (hospitality) 9%

- manufacturing 9%

- education 8%

- private households 8%

Data obtained from The Department of Work and Income (DWI, 2006) over the first half year of

2006, show that out of a total of 23 nationalities, totally 850 people sought help: in relation to job

application (501), medical coverage (188) and welfare (103). The largest groups on the list are:

Migrant application for social help in the first half year of 2006

Migrant group work medical insurance welfare

Colombians 87 30 3

Dominicans 196 70 51

Haitians 89 18 16

Jamaicans 55 9 2

Source: DWI 2006

91

3.2.4 Bonaire

3.2.4.1 Population The total population of Bonaire in the year 2005 amounts to 10,638 inhabitants. The years 1995,

2000 through 2003 present a decrease in the population, while a gradual increase is observable in

2004 through 2005.

Populat ion Bonaire

1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 9000

9500

10000

10500

11000

11500

12000

12500


The balance between live births and deaths is positive over the years 2003-2004 with a natural

increase of an average of 69 inhabitants per year. The registered arrivals and departures show a

positive net migration through the years 2003-2004, influencing the increase of the population

rate over these two years (http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006). According to

Census 2001, the population of Bonaire distinguishes 13 different nationalities, (the Dutch, locals

and European Dutch) included. The following chart shows the distribution of the population in

the year 2001.

92

Bonaire Total population by nationality, age group and sex

Nationality

age group 0 - 14 15 – 64 65 + total


Chinese 8 7 0,5% (15) 21 16

0,5% (37) - - - 29 23

0,5% (52)

Colombian 20 20 1,4% (40) 79 113

2,7% (192) - 1

0,1% (1) 99 134

2,2% (233)

Dominican Republic 47 32

2,7% (79) 143 188

4,7% (331) 1 -

0,1% (1) 191 220

3,8% (411)

Guyanese 5 -0,2%

(5) 9 8 0,2% (17) - - - 14 8

0,2% (22)

Haitian 1 ->0,1%

(1) 5 17 0,3% (22) - 1

0,1% (1) 6 18

0,2% (24)

Indian 1 1 >0,1%

(2) 6 2 0,1%

(8) - - - 7 3 0,1% (10)

Jamaican - - - 2 1 >0,1%

(3) - - - 2 1 >0,1%

(3)

Dutch 1270 1263 88,6% (2533) 2894 3012

83,3% (5906) 378 419

97,1% (797) 4542 4694

85,6% (9236

Portuguese - - 12 1 0,2% (13) - - - 12 1

0,1% (13)

Surinam 19 16

1,2% (35)

31 35 0,9% (66) 1 1

0,2% (2) 51 52

1% (103)

American (U.S.) 8 8

0,6% (16) 37 38

1,1% (75) 5 6

1,3% (11) 50 52

1% (102)

English (U.K.) 2 -

>0,1% (2) 6 5

0,2% (11) - - - 8 5

0,1% (13)

Venezuelan 38 41 2,7% (79) 89 77

2,3% (166) 1 1

0,2% (2) 128 119

2,3% (247)

Others 23 30 1,8% (53) 113 79

2,7% (192) 4 1

0,6% (5) 140 110

2,3% (250)

Not reported 8 15

0,8% (23) 18 30

0,7% (48) 1 -

0,1% (1) 27 45

0,7% (72)

Total 1450 1433 100%

(2883) 3465 3622 100%

(7087) 391 430 100% (821) 5306 5485

100% (1079)

Source: CBS Census 2001

Population by Age and Gender

The population of Bonaire is comprised in the year 2005, of 5,513 females (52 % of total

population) and 5,125 males (48 % of total population). The ratio female, male has been more or

less even through the years 1995-2005 (http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006).

The distribution of the population per age group in the year 2005 is:

- 0-14 26 % (2,745)

- 15-64 65 % (6,925)

- 65+ 9 % (968)

The Migrant Population by nationality, gender and age

The data of the migrant population is extracted from the Census of 2001. Updated information on

this topic is not yet available. The migrant population in 2001 is an estimated 14 % (1,555) of

the total population in 2001.

93

The five largest groups are percentage wise presented in relation to the total migrant population

(the Dutch nationality is excluded as it includes Locals and Dutch Europeans):

- Dominicans 26 % (411) female surpass male only in the age group 15-64

- Venezuelans 16 % (247) male surpass female in all age groups except 0-14

- Colombians 15 % (233) female surpass male in all age groups except 0-14

- Surinamese 7 % (103) female surpass male only in 15-64

- American U.S. 7 % (102) female surpass male in all age groups except 0-14

The migrant females surpass the males by 179.

The migrant population in the year 2001 distributed by age groups is as follows:

- 0-14 23 % (350)

- 15-64 76 % (1,181)

- 65+ 1 % (24)

3.2.4.2 Labour Force Bonaire The labour force of Bonaire totals 5,117 in 2004 with a participation rate of 49.1 %.

The employed population in the year 2004 is 44.7 % (4,661) of the total population. The

unemployed population totals 456 (http://cbs.an/labour/labour_tables.asp, 2006).

Labour Force by Age and Gender

The labour force over the year 2004 by age range is as follows:

Labour Force by age

Participation age range Total

rate

15-24 504 42.5%

25-44 2,691 89.4%

45+ 1,924 55.8%

Source: CBS Labour 2006

The employed males over the year 2004 total 2,266, which is 129 less than the females (CBS

Labour, 2006). This is a surprising outcome, since for a long time males dominated the working

population.

94

Migrant Labour Force Bonaire

The migrant working age population of Bonaire (Census, 2001) is 17 % (1,181) of the total

working age population.

The Employed Population Bonaire by Industry

The CBS LFSS 2001/2004 reports 16 industries of which the five largest are percentage wise

presented in relation to the total employed population by industry:

Employed Population by Industry

Industry 2001 2004

Hotels and restaurants (hospitality) 16% 17%

Wholesale and retail trade 14% 16%

Public Administration and defense 13% 14%

Construction 10% 8%

Community and social services 7% 8%


Employed Population Bonaire by Education Level

The distribution of the labour force by education shows that 46 % of the workforce has a

secondary first stage education, 22 % has a secondary 2nd stage education, 16 % has a higher

education and 13% has an elementary education.

Employed Population by education level

Education level Amount Percentage

elementary ed. 578 13%

secondary ed. 1st stage 1995 46%

secondary ed. 2nd stage 954 22%

higher ed. 720 17%

unknown 87 2%

total 4334 100% Source: CBS Labour Force Sample survey 2002

Employed Migrant Population Bonaire by Industry

Migrants (CBS LFSS, 2001) form 35 % (1.616) of the employed labour population.

The five industries with the largest numbers of migrants are:

- Hotels and restaurants (hospitality) 24 % (382)

- Construction 14 % (234)

- Community Social Services 8 % (128)

- Real Estate 8 % (123)

- Private Households 9 % (81)

95

The percentages are calculated on the total employed migrants.

The data presented are mostly of the year 2001. There are no updated statistics available yet on

migrant population.

3.2.5 Sint Maarten

3.2.5.1 Population

The population of Sint Maarten totals 35,035 in the year 2005. The population has fluctuated

from 1991 through 2005 without any significant peaks or dips.

S t . M a ar ten

0 50 00

10 00 0 15 00 0 20 00 0 25 00 0 30 00 0 35 00 0 40 00 0

1991

19

93

1995

19

97

1999

20

01

2003

20

05

Inha

bita

nts

S t . M a a r te n


The balance between live births and deaths has been positive, pointing towards a natural

increase. Also the migration rate has been mostly positive between 1991 and 2005, indicating

that the fluctuation in the population through the years is a consequence of to the interplay

between natural flow and migration (http://cbs.an/labour/labour_tables.asp, 2006).

Population by age and gender

The distribution of the population by age group shows an increase in all age groups. According to

CBS LFSS (2005), this is due to immigration and the natural flow from one age group to another.

The age distribution in 2005 per group is as follows:

- 0-14 26% (8,984)

- 15-64 72% (25,105)

- 65 + 2% (946)

The females exceed the males in all age groups. Males total 48 % (16,964) while females total

52% (18,071) (http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006).

96

In the Census of 2001 the population of Sint Maarten is distributed among 13 specified

nationalities plus a category for remaining nationalities. Since 2001 the population has grown by

4,441 persons (2005).

The Migrant Population by nationality, age and gender

The data of the migrant population is extracted from Census 2001.

The migrant population totals an estimated 15,122 inhabitants, of which the five largest groups

are percentage wise presented in relation to the total migrant population (the Dutch nationality is

excluded as it includes locals and European Dutch):

- Dominicans 20% (3,098); females surpass males in all age groups

- Haitians 20% (2,964); males surpass females in all age groups, except 0-14

- Jamaicans 10% (1,516); females surpass males in all age groups

- Guyanese 6% (915); males surpass females in the age group 15-64

- Americans 4% (465); males surpass females in all age groups, except 65+

97

Population and Housing Census 2001

Sint Maarten Total population by nationality, age group and sex

Nationality

age group 0 - 14 15 – 64 65 + total

male female total male femal

e total male fem ale total male female total

0,2% 0,4% 0,3% Chinese 7 6 (13) 44 39 (83) - - - 51 45 (96)

0,4% 0,6% 0,1% 0,6% Colombian 17 17 (34) 66 77 (143) 1 - (1) 84 94 (178) Dominican 5,2% 12,3% 2,6% 10,1% Republic 199 212 (411) 1047 1616 (2663) 9 15 (24) 1255 1843 (3098)

2,2% 3,4% 0,2% 3% Guyanese 81 90 (171) 385 357 (742) 1 1 (2) 467 448 (915)

8,1% 10,6% 2,5% 9,7% Haitian 305 339 (644) 1382 915 (2297) 19 4 (23) 1706 1258 (2964)

1% 1,9% 1,5% 1,7% Indian 51 32 (83) 264 149 (413) 3 11 (14) 318 192 (510)

Jamaican 115 134 3,1% (249) 500 760

5,8% (1260) 1 6

0,8% (7) 616 900

5% (1516)

Dutch 249

2 2537

63,3 %

(5029) 4575 5145 44,7% (9720) 299 424

77,7 %

(723) 7366 8106

50,6% (15472

)

Portugues e 1 -

<0,1 %

(1) 4 -< 0,1%

(4) - - - 5 -< 0,1%

(5)

Surinam 34 46 1%

(80) 93 99 0,9% (192) - 1

0,1% (1) 127 146

0,9% (273)

American 1,8% 1,7% 4,2% 1,8% (U.S.) 76 70 (146) 199 180 (379) 19 20 (39) 294 270 (564) English (U.K.) 48 49

1,2% (97) 278 223

2,3% (501) 12 15

0,3% (27) 338 287

2% (625)

Venezuela 0,3% 0,2% 0,2% n 12 13 (25) 28 20 (48) - - 40 33 (73)

10,8 % 14,2% 6,8% 13,1%

Others 427 432 (859) 1612 1469 (3081) 34 29 (63) 2073 1930 (4003) Not 1,2% 0,9% 0,8% 1% reported 54 44 (98) 94 103 (197) 2 5 (7) 150 152 (302)

391 100% 1057 100% 100% 100% Total 9 4021 (7940) 1 11152 (21723) 400 531 (931) 14890 15704 (30594)

Source: CBS Population and Housing Census 2001

3.2.5.2 Labour Force Sint Maarten

The labour force totals 20,871 in 2005, 1,238 more than the previous year. The employed

population amounts to 18,073, while the unemployed total 2,798. The participation rate is 58.1.

The employed population constitutes 50.3 % of the total population (CBS LFSS, 2005).

Labour Force Sint Maarten by Gender and Age

The male labour force (2005) is 10,908 with a participation rate of 63 %. The employed males

constitute 56.1 % of the total male population. The female labour force totals 9,963 in 2005 with

a participation rate of 53.5 %. The employed females represent 44.9 % of the total female

population. The distribution of the labour force by age group is as follows:

- 15-24 2,014 with a participation rate of 47.7%.

- 25-44 12,547 with a participation rate of 90%

98

- 45+ 6,309 with a participation rate of 72.6%

Labour Force Migrant Population Sint Maarten

The working migrant population constitutes 55% (12,003) of the total working age population.

Employed Population by Level of Education

The employed population of St. Maarten by level of education:

- elementary education 19% (2,859)

- secondary ed. 1st stage 39% (6,060)

- secondary ed. 2nd stage 24% (3,623)

- higher education 12% (1,872)

- unknown 6% (999)


The employed population by industry totals 15,495. The five largest industries in terms of work

force are:

- wholesale and retail trade 20% (3,084)

- hospitality 15% (2,322)

- community social 10% (1,477)

- construction 9% (1,415)

- transportation, storage & comm. 8% (1,314)


The employed migrant population by industry totals 12,155. This number constitutes 78 % of the

total employed population which implicates a big difference with the local employed population

(CBS Census, 2001).

The five sectors with the largest number of migrants employed are:

- wholesale and retail trade 21% (2,581), males surpass females by 445

- hotels and restaurants 17 % (2,015), females surpass males by 225

- construction 11 % (1,326), males surpass females by 1,192

- community & social service 10 % (1,158), females surpass females by 230

- real estate, renting &

business activities 9 % (1,039), males surpass females by 239

The Employed local and Migrant Population by Economic Position

99

The following chart shows a large difference between the number of local and migrant employed

population in 2005. There are totally 14,876 people reported in the CBS LFSS (2005), enlisted

by the following economic position:

Employed local and migrant population by economic position 2005

Economic position Local migrant

Employer 28 140 small business entrepreneur 228 1496

wage earner (steady) 1901 7912

wage earner (temporally) 139 1101

part time jobs 64 502

contract worker 237 916

Others 18 84

not known 0 110

Total 2615 12261

Inha

bita

nts


3.2.6 Sint Eustatius

3.2.6.1 Population In 2005 the population of Sint Eustatius totals 2,584. Sint Eustatius has seen a steady increase in

its population between 1991 and 2005. The balance of live births and deaths is positive with a

natural increase in 2003-2004. The net migration has also been positive through 2003-2004


Population Statia

3000

2000

1000

01995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005


Population Sint Eustatius by age and gender

The age distribution is as follows:

- 0-14 24% (623) males surpass females

- 15-64 69% (1775) females are more in number

- 65+ 7% (186) males are more in number

Males constitute 49.8% (1,287) of the total population and females 50.2% (1,297).

100

In the Census 2001 the population of Sint Eustatius is distributed over 13 nationalities and a rest

category. Since 2001 the population has grown by 295 inhabitants (2005).

Migrant Population by Nationality, Age and Gender

The data of the migrant population is extracted from Census 2001. Updated information on this

topic is not yet available. The migrant population (those with a foreign nationality) totals an

estimated 515 inhabitants , of which the five largest groups are presented as percentage of the

total migrant population (the Dutch nationality is excluded as it includes locals and European

Dutch):

- American 19 %: there are more females than males in all age groups except 15-64

- Dominican 18 %: females are predominant in all age groups except 0-14

- Guyanese 11 %; there are more females than males in all age groups except 0-1

- Surinamese 5 %; females are predominant in all age groups

- Chinese 4 %; males surpass females

101

Sint Eustatius Total population by nationality , age group and sex

Nationality

age group 0 - 14 15 – 64 65 + Total

male female total male female Total male female total male Female total 0,2% 1,4% 0,9%

Chinese 1 - (1) 12 8 (20) - - - 13 8 (21) Colombian - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dominican Republic 13 11

3,9% (24) 26 43

4,7% (69) - 1

0,5% (1) 39 55

4,1% (94)

Guyanese 12 11 3,7% (23) 15 20

2,4% (35) - - - 27 31

2,5% (58)

0,4% 0,3% 0,3% Haitian 1 2 (3) 3 2 (5) - - - 4 4 (8)

0,4% 0,3% Indian - - 4 2 (6) - - - 4 2 (6)

0,3% 0,5% 0,4% Jamaican - 2 (2) 5 3 (8) - - - 5 5 (10)

83,7% 73,8% 86% 77,5% Dutch 263 256 (519) 529 558 (1087) 88 83 (171) 880 897 (1777) Portuguese - - - - - - - - - - - -

1,1% 1,2% 1,1% Surinam 2 5 (7) 8 10 (18) - - - 10 15 (25)

American 2% 4,4% 10,1% 4,3% (U.S.) 6 7 (13) 34 31 (65) 8 12 (20) 48 50 (98)

English (U.K.) 2 -

0,3% (2) 8 5

0,9% (13) 1 -

0,5% (1) 11 5

0,7% (16)

0,2% 0,1% Venezuelan - - 2 1 (3) - - - 2 1 (3)

2,9% 8,6% 2,5% 6,5% Others 7 11 (18) 74 53 (127) 2 3 (5) 83 67 (150)

Not 1,3% 1,2% 0,5% 1,1% reported 2 6 (8) 10 7 (17) - 1 (1) 12 14 (26)

100% 100% 100% 100% Total 309 311 (620) 730 743 (1473) 99 100 (199) 1138 1154 (2292)


3.2.6.2 Labour Force Sint Eustatius There are only data available on the employed population of Sint Eustatius and not on labour

force as a whole. The total employed population of Sint Eustatius counts 1,038 workers (CBS

Census, 2001). The locals constitute 52 % of the total employed population


Labour Force Sint Eustatius by gender and Age

The working age constitutes 69 % of the total population (2005); 53 % are males and 47 %

females (http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006).

102

Labour Force Migrant Population Sint Eustatius

Migrants of working age population (Census, 2001) constitute 26% (386) of the population

between 15 and 64 years of age of Sint Eustatius in 2001.

Employed Population by level of Education

The total employed population by level of education shows the next distribution:

Employed population St. Eustatius by education level

Education level Total Percentage

Elementary Ed 226 22%

Secondary ed. 1st stage 406 39%

Secondary ed. 2nd stage 207 20%

higher ed. 165 16%

Unknown 34 3%

Total 1038 100%

Source: CBS Labour Force Sample Survey 2002


The Census of 2001 details the employed population within 16 industries. The employed

population totals 1,038. Next are the five sectors with the largest employment (% of total

employed population by industry):

- wholesale and retail trade 22% (226)

- public administration & defense 17% (173)

- construction 10% (102)

- education 9% (98)

- health and social work 7% (72)


The employed migrant population totals 500. This figure constitutes 48% of the total employed

population by industry (CBS Census, 2001). Five sectors with the largest number of migrants

employed are:

- wholesale and retail trade 22%; males surpass females by 40

- construction 13%; males surpass females by 59

- education 11%; females surpass males by 1

- community and social services 9%; females surpass males by 6

The number of male workers 59% (293) is slightly higher than that of female workers 41% (207).

103

3.2.7 Saba

3.2.7.1 Population

The population of Saba totals 1,434 inhabitants in the year 2005

(http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp, 2006). The population maintains a steady upward

flow through 1991-2002 with a dip in 2003-2004 and then again an upward flow in 2005.

Population Saba

0

500

1000

1500

2000

1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

inhabitants

Source: CBS Population

The balance between live births and deaths presents an average natural increase of 6 persons

2003-2004. The net migration flow is an average of 2 persons over the same years. The steady

growth of the population is due to the interplay of natural growth and migration.

Population Saba by age and gender

The age distribution of Saba’s population (2005) is as follows:

- 0-14 20 % (286); number of males surpasses females by 8

- 15-64 70 % (1000); number of males surpasses females by 10

- 65 + 10 % (148); number of females surpasses males by 16

In the Census of 2001 Saba’s population is distributed over 13 nationalities and a rest category.

Since then the population has grown with 75 inhabitants (2005).

104

Migrant Population Saba by nationality, age and gender

The data of the migrant (persons with a foreign nationality) population is extracted from Census

2001.

Saba

Total population by nationality, age group and sex

Nationality

age group

0 - 14 15 - 64 65+ Total


Chinese - - - 1

0,1%

(1) - - - - 1

>0,1%

(1)

Colombian 2 3

1,8%

(5) 4 18

2,4%

(22) - - - 6 21

2%

(27)

Dominican

Republic 8 8

5,7%

(16) 7 28

3,8%

(35) - 1

0,7%

(1) 15 37

3,9%

(52)

Guyanese 1 1

0,7%

(2) 2 6

0,9%

(8) - - - 3 7

0,7%

(10)

Haitian 1 4

1,8%

(5) 9 7

1,7%

(16) - - - 10 11

1,6%

(21)

Indian - - 11 4

1,6%

(15) - - - 11 4

1,1%

(15)

Jamaican - - - 2 1

0,3%

(3) - - - 2 1

0,2%

(3)

Dutch 106 110

77,1%

(216) 272 246

56,7%

(518) 51 71

83%

(122) 429 427

65,5%

(856)

Portuguese - - - - 1

0,1%

(1) - - - - 1

>0,1%

(1)

Surinam - - - - - - - - - - - -

American

(U.S.) 5 10

5,4%

(15) 82 65

16%

(147) 14 4

12,2%

(18) 101 79

13,3%

(180)

English

(U.K.) 1 -

0,3%

(1) 11 11

2,4%

(22) 3 -

0,2%

(3) 15 11

1,9%

(26)

Venezuelan - - - 3 -

0,3%

(3) - - - 3 -

0,2%

(3)

Others 12 6

6,4%

(18) 61 49

11,9%

(110) - - - 73 55

9,5%

(128)

Not

reported - 2

0,7%

(2) 10 11

2,3%

(21) - 3

0,2%

(3) 10 16

1,9%

(26)

Total 136 144

100%

(280) 474 448

100%

(922) 68 79

100%

(147) 678 671

100%

(1349)


The migrant population totals 493 inhabitants, of which the five largest groups are presented next

(% of the migrant population); the Dutch nationality is excluded as it includes locals and Dutch

European:

- American 37 % (180); males surpass females by 22

105

- Dominican 11 % (52); females surpass males by 12

- Colombian 5 % (27); females surpass males by 15

- English UK 5 % (26); males surpass females by 4

- Haitians 4 % (21); females surpass male by 1

The age distribution among the migrants is as follows:

- 0-14 13 %

- 15-64 82 %

- 65+ 5 %

Males surpass females by 4

3.2.7.2 Labour Force Saba There are no data available on the total labour force. The working age population consists of

1,000 in 2005.

Labour Force Migrant Population Saba

The migrant working age population of Saba (Census, 2001) constitutes 44% (404) of the total

working age population in 2001.

Employed Population Saba

The total employed population of Saba encompasses 598 workers.

The locals (337) constitute 56% of the total employed population:

Employed Population Saba by level of Education

Saba’s employed population by level of education shows the following distribution:

Employed Population by education level

Education level Total Percentage

Elementary education 134 22%

secondary education 1st stage 230 38%

secondary education 2nd stage 124 21%

higher education 88 15%

Unkown 42 7%

Total 618 100%

Source: CBS Labour Force Sample Survey 2001, 2002

Employed Population Saba by Industry

106

The CBS Census 2001 details the employed population within 16 industries. The employed

population by industry totals 598 workers. Next are five sectors with the largest employment (%

of total employed population by industry):

- Public administration and defense 19 % (112)

- Wholesale and retail trade 13 % (76)

- Construction 13 % (75)

- Hotels and restaurants (hospitality) 11 % (68)

- Education 11 % (65)

Employed Migrant Population Saba by Industry

The employed migrant population by industry totals 261. This number constitutes 44 % of the

total employed population by industry (CBS Census, 2001).

The five sectors with the largest numbers of migrants employed are:

- Education 20 %; males surpass females by 1

- Hospitality 16 %; females surpass males by 24

- Wholesale and retail trade 12 %; females surpass males by 2

- Construction 12 %; only males

- Community and Services 8 %; males surpass females by 1

The number of migrant male workers (130) is similar to that of the female workers (131).

The total employed population of Saba is 598. The working migrant population by industry totals

261. This number represents 44% of the total employed population by industry. Unlike the other

islands where more migrants are found in the wholesale and retail trade and in the hospitality

industry, in Saba the highest number of migrants (20%) is employed in the education field.

3.2.8 Conclusions

We need to stress that it is quite difficult to make any valid comparisons on the basis of the data

provided. There are differences in the year of the compilation of the data and in some cases vital

information such as data on the migrant population was not available.

A statistical analysis of migration dynamics among the islands shows both similarity and

differentiation.

There is similarity with regard to the background of migrants. Dominicans, Haitians, Colombians

and Jamaicans are present in all the migrant populations of all islands. Most migrants are within

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the working-age range. Most of them have a secondary education 1st stage, 2nd stage and

elementary education and are increasingly employed in unskilled labour (CBS LFSS in Modus

Statistisch Magazine,2003). Some variation exists concerning distribution of gender, but females

are predominant in most groups.

Most migrants are employed in the Wholesale-Retail trade and the Hospitality Industry. Hardly

any differentiation can be seen between the islands regarding the employment sectors. In the

Windward Islands, the construction industry is popular among migrant workers. Also the

educational sector provides relatively more employment for migrants on the Windwards Islands.

The latter is related to the fact that all Windward Islands have international medical schools with

relatively large expert staffs. Furthermore, statistics show that there are more migrants employed

in domestic labour in the Leeward Islands than in the Windwards Islands.

There are significant differences in the percentage of migrants in the labour force. The statistical

data indicate that the percentages of migrants in the labour force are higher than locals in the

Windward Islands. Sint Maarten has the highest percentage of migrants in the labour force, while

Curaçao has the lowest.

3.2.9 The institutional framework and policies relevant to migration

3.2.9.1 Institutional framework

The main institutional framework surrounding labour migration consists basically of the

governmental and non-governmental stakeholders which were interviewed during the focus

group sessions. The complexity and variety of this subject is reflected in the scope of institutions

which are involved. Under discussion here are stakeholders who are directly involved with

labour migration; this listing is in no way complete but is meant to illustrate the wide range of

responsibilities and tasks. The groups can be categorized as follows:

3.2.9.2 Enforcement groups

The stakeholders within the enforcement group are based within the local and national

government. Their work is closely tied to the constitution of the present laws. Their main concern

with regard to labour migration is to uphold the law, to handle permit applications and to control

for illegality with regard to migrant labour. Stakeholders included in this group are:

• Immigration (‘VreemdelingenDienst’ – VD)

• Local Head of Police (‘Plaatselijk Hoofd van Politie’ – PHP)

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• Customs Services (‘Douane’)

• Coast Guard (‘Kustwacht’)

• Cabinet of the Lieutenant Governor (‘Kabinet van de Gezaghebber’ - KvdG)

• Local and National Department of Legal Affairs (‘Dienst en Directie Algemene

Juridische Zaken’ – AJZ)

• Island Labour Office and Directorate of Labour Affairs (‘Dienst ArbeidsZorg en

Directie Arbeidszaken’ – DAZ and DirAZ)

• Local Police Reserve Corps (‘Servisio di Kontròl i Siguridat’- SKS)

• The Public Prosecutor (‘Openbaar Ministerie’ - OM)

3.2.9.3 Labour- and Social policymakers

There are governmental as well as non governmental institutions involved in labour and

social policy making. An essential task of these institutions involves migrant labour and social

issues. Stakeholders included in this group are:

• National Department of Labour Affairs (‘Directie ArbeidsZaken’)

• Island Labour Office, department for Work Permits regarding Foreigners (‘Dienst

ArbeidsZaken – Afdeling Vergunningen’)

• Local Department of Work and Income (‘Dienst Werk en Inkomen’ - DWI)

• Department for Women Affairs (‘Bureau Vrouwenzaken’)

• Bank for Social Security (‘Sociale Verzekerings Bank’- SVB)

3.2.9.4 NGO’s

Stakeholders within this group are concerned with the general circumstances of labour migrants.

They get their information mostly from direct contacts with migrants and supply the formal

institutions with suggestions for policy reforms. They also act on behalf of labour migrants.

Labour migrants themselves take part in these institutions. Institutions within this group are:

• Amnesty International

• The Foundation for the Welfare of Foreign Immigrant Workers (‘Stichting

BuitenlanderZorg’)

• Several Friendship Societies, based on shared nationality

• Association of Borough Councils (‘Wijkraden’)

• NGO Platform

• Combined and individual Church Councils (‘Kerkraden’)

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3.2.9.5 Employers and Private Employment Agencies

These organizations represent the employers from different industry branches. Some work with

legal as well as with illegal migrants. Several of these organizations are sought for advice on a

regular basis by governmental institutions. Included in this group are:

• Society of United Employers ( E.g. ‘Vereniging Bedrijsleven Curaçao’ – VBC)

• Private Employment Agencies (‘Uitzendbureau’s’)

• Chamber of Commerce (‘Kamer van Koophandel’ – KvK)

• Individual labour Intermediaries

• Document Agencies

3.2.9.6 Labour Unions

Early trade unions, like Friendly Societies, often provided a range of benefits to insure members

against unemployment, ill health, old age and funeral expenses. In many developed countries,

these functions have been assumed by the state; however the provision of legal advice and

representation for members is an important benefit of trade union membership.

3.2.9.7 Official Diplomatic Institutions

These institutions represent the interests of countrymen. The range of their services is diverse,

from general trouble shooting to the handling of visa applications. The Netherlands Antilles

houses only consulates at the moment.

3.2.10 Policies relevant to migration10

The policy regarding foreigners and as such labour migrants is based on the law concerning

foreigners of the Dutch Antilles. This law has its origin in various constitutional laws, namely the

Statute, State Regulation, National Regulations and jurisprudence. The most important

international treaties concerning laws for foreigners are The European Treaty concerning the

protection of human rights and fundamental rights, The International Treaty concerning civil

rights and political rights, the treaty regarding Child Rights, The United Nations Treaty against

torture and other inhumane and dishonoring treatments or punishments and the treaty against

10 This part of the essay is largely based on the preface of the Complete Guidelines for the National Ruling for Admittance and Expulsion of Foreigners, June 2006.

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Trafficking of Persons. The Kingdom of The Netherlands made explicit exceptions for the

Netherlands Antilles and Aruba regarding the treaty concerning fugitives. Fugitives in the

Netherlands Antilles cannot make an appeal to the regulations regarding the treaty concerning

fugitives (the so called asylum seekers). This also illustrates that The Netherlands Antilles as

such do not have an autonomous migration policy: it is largely constituted within the framework

of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. It does not necessarily reflect the priorities which are felt

and described on the islands, therefore explicit exceptions or changes on behalf of interests of the

Netherlands Antilles are made by negotiating within the Kingdom. In principle the Netherlands

Antilles decides autonomously which international treaties will apply for its territory.

The national regulation consists of the following:

• National Regulation for Admittance and Expulsion of Foreigners (‘Landsverordening

Toelating en Uitzetting’- LTU)

• National Regulation for the Employment of Foreigners (‘Landsverordening Arbeid

Vreemdelingen’ - LAV)

• National Regulation of Administrative Jurisdiction (‘Landsverordening Administratieve

Rechtsspraak’ - LAR)

• Decision of Admittance (‘Toelatingsbesluit’ - Tb)

• Island Decree regarding General Measures (‘Eilandsbesluit houdende algemene

maatregelen’ - EB h.am.)

• Revised Instructions for Lieutenant Governors (‘Herziene instructie aan gezaghebbers’)

Concerning jurisprudence, the law for foreigners is assigned by the rulings of the LAR judge and

European Civil Rights Court. This means that jurisprudence on these issues is not constituted on

the basis of a local context, but is assigned to international rulings. The notion of ‘Permission to

stay’ which is used in the National Regulation regarding Admittance and Expulsion (LTU)

applies to foreigners. Foreigners are those to whom the LTU applies. Persons to whom the LTU

does not apply are, as described in article 1 of the LTU, not considered to be foreigners, and are

called Not Applicable in this instruction.

It is a main rule that foreigners should own a permit. There is one exception: the ones admitted

by law. In other cases foreigners are only allowed into the Netherlands Antilles with a permit for

(temporary) stay.

The policy for foreigners of the Netherlands Antilles is based on the following aspects:

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1. A restrictive policy regarding admittance

A restrictive policy regarding admittance means that entrance to the Netherlands Antilles is

conditional on the following premises:

Entrance of a foreigner serves a valid and substantial interest of the Netherlands Antilles.

There is an obligation to follow rules which were constituted on an internationally.

2. The longer a foreigner lives in this country, the more rights he will get (strengthening of the

legal position)

The strengthening of the legal position means that once a foreigner stayed in the country for

five years without interruption, fewer conditions apply to prolongation of his stay. This

should also mean that the chances of expulsion are smaller. This rule is based on several

rulings of the European Court.

3. The principles of proper governing

The general principles of proper governing are unwritten standards in law with which every

organization should comply in reference to decisions and decrees. These principles are

developed within the current jurisdiction (jurisprudence).

Based on the above the Antillean law concerning foreigners is being executed and translated into

guidelines.

Procedures regarding the application for a work permit

Various governmental institutions are involved in the process of applying and provinding work

permits. This process consists roughly of the following steps:

1. The initiator fills out an application form and hands one copy to the Local Head of Police

(‘Plaatselijk Hoofd van Politie’ – PHP) and the Island Labour Office (‘Dienst Arbeids Zorg’

– DAZ). A fee for administration costs is obligatory. PHP documents the application in the

NAVAS database and forwards the document to Immigration (‘VreemdelingenDienst – VD).

2. DAZ hands the applicant a receipt of payment, administrates the application form and checks

if all necessary appendices are included. Once checked, applicant gets his documents back

and an advice is drawn up for the Cabinet of the Lieutenant Governor (‘Kabinet van de

Gezaghebber’ - KvdG).

3. The KvdG receives the advice of DAZ and forwards it to the Executive Council

(‘BestuursCollege’ - BC)

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4. The BC acknowledges the advice, sends it to DAZ for archival, informs the applicant and

sends the document to the VD.

5. If a work permit is granted, the applicant should go to the VD to have his permit stamped and

dated.

3.3 Focus group interviews

3.3.1 Focus Group interview with Enforcement Group

Like most of the focus groups this group estimates that the number of migrants is huge and that

there is a sharp increase of the number of migrants over the last few years. Still they are aware

that it is just a perception, because there is hardly any recent data to back this up. Most of these

migrants seem to come from the Dominican Republic. According to the participant of the

Immigration Authority 50% of the migrants are Dominicans. Other migrants are mostly from

Colombia and Haiti. The economic sectors in which they are mostly active are construction,

hotels, bars, restaurants and the entertainment industry. Also simple jobs in supermarkets and

domestic services are popular occupations of these labour migrants. These are jobs which require

minimal or below average education.

These enforcement officials believe that what drives these migrants to leave their native country

are the poor socio-economic circumstances over there. Labour migrants look for other ways to

support their families. They are attracted to Curaçao because of the economic opportunities

combined with the perception that it’s fairly easy to enter and work. Also mentioned is the

relatively high standard of living. Being a small island, the main port of entry of documented

migrants is the airport. However, the last few years there was also the phenomenon of

undocumented foreigners almost daily trying to enter by small boats with a capacity between 6

and 15 people. The intensified actions of the Coast Guard have decreased this development

substantially lately.

In the case of the Netherlands Antilles there are some countries from which visitors need a visa

to enter and some others not, such as Venezuela and The Netherlands. That makes it in a certain

sense more restrictive for visitors of certain countries and more lenient for others. Examples of

countries with restricted immigration rules are Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Peru and

Colombia. This policy is hardly controllable by of the local authorities as the policy in this field

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is stipulated by the Kingdom (in this case The Hague). There is hardly any factual data available

on this subject, but the perception among the participants in this group interview is that families

of potential migrants play a facilitating role in the planning and execution of labour migration.

An established local network to recruit is unlikely to exist.

The role of “friendship societies” in this process is acknowledged by the participants, though no

further data on this subject is available. The ethnic group and family traditionally provide a

supportive network as seen with Lebanese, Indians and Portuguese natives.

The participants of this group do all agree that undocumented labour migration needs to be taken

care of. It is one of their priorities. Without a good overview of our population we lose the basis

for accurate policies on for example issues of housing, medical care and education. Furthermore

we lose potential incomes from taxes. The participants suggest addressing the question to what

extent undocumented labour migrants contribute to our society, in terms of spending and paying

taxes. The general perception is that all of their money goes abroad, with hardly any data to back

up this perception. Besides, there are sometimes serious problems with migrants. Narcotic issues

with Colombians and burglary issues with Jamaicans are mentioned

Enforcement agencies get a lot of support of the local community in the form of tips concerning

the whereabouts of undocumented migrants. Important intelligence is gathered by getting in

touch with local communities. Professional means are not used because of lack of funds and/or

staff. Curaçao experienced e a high labour migration of its locals to the Netherlands since in the

late 1990’s, however the outflow to the region it is almost non existent. Historically Cuba (in the

first part of last century) was a popular destination within the Caribbean, but nowadays that isn’t

the case anymore.

The new migration policies are considered satisfactory, but there is a structural lack of staff to

enforce these policies. This is a main issue of concern among the participants. There is a shared

belief that the relevant partners should cooperate more to enforce an effective policy regarding

labour migration. This survey is welcomed because it creates opportunities to work together and

create valuable data on these topics.

3.3.2 Focus Group interview with labour and social policy agencies

Group members unanimously share the view that no active migration policy exists. There isn’t

even a common vision on what the situation should be. What is considered to be a policy on

migration, is actually more an effort to control the inflow of migrants to protect as much as

possible the job opportunities for the great number of unemployed locals. For labour migrants

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already on the island there is no active policy to protect migrants of being exploited and abused

and there is no integral social approach of the issues surrounding migration. On the other hand

there is neither a policy to prevent migrants from taking unfair advantage of social benefits for

example. Because of humanitarian considerations there are no restrictions on migrants receiving

social assistance when applied for.

Nobody can give a reliable indication of the magnitude of the phenomenon of labour migrants in

Curaçao. However, based on the fact that approximately 40 % of petitions for social assistance

are for foreign born persons one could draw the conclusion that we are dealing here with a very

big issue. Moreover, the experience of this group is that the number of migrants is increasing.

The labour migrants from the region are mostly from the Dominican Republic, Colombia and

Haiti. To a lesser degree migrants originate from Jamaica.11

The labour migrants in Curaçao are mostly employed in the hospitality industry, including the

“entertainment” industry, the construction industry and house-keeping. The vast majority are

semi- or unskilled workers, according to those that apply for social assistance.

This group is convinced that poverty is the main reason for migrants to leave their home country.

According to them, the migrants are attracted to Curaçao for its relatively high standard of living

and especially its free medical security arrangements.

This group thinks that there is a variety of channels through which the labour migrants find their

way to Curaçao. In some cases it is clearly with the help of local people. For example (ex-)

public officers who know the legal loop-holes to get the residence and work permits. There is a

lot of money coming from the home country involved in these kinds of activities. Also false

marriages and cohabitation contracts are popular ways to get the residence and work permits.

The representatives of this group all consider undocumented labour migration something that

should be fought against. From the Island Office for Work and Income this group takes a large

part of the funds for social and medical assistance. Nonetheless, with the exception of the Island

Labour Office, this group does not have the task to combat this phenomenon. The Island Labour

Office is part of a taskforce that must detect undocumented labour migrants and deport them.

However, they lack personnel, equipment, and data to do this job effectively. The frustrating part

of that job is that the deported often return in record time.

11 In the administration of the Island Office for Work and Income (Dienst Werk en Inkomen - DWI) there are 23 nationalities registered of people applying for social assistance. An upcoming group of labour migrants in Curaçao are the Asians (especially Chinese).

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According to this group the cause of this problem lies in the mentality of the locals. The work

discipline of locals is in many cases considered very low. That is what drives employers to fill

their vacancies with labour migrants, either documented or undocumented. The experience of

this group is that the undocumented are most of the time employed in just the same economic

sectors as where you find the documented, namely in the hospitality industry, including the

“entertainment” industry, in the evening hours. In the day-time they work especially in

supermarkets (in the back), in the construction world and in house-keeping. To be employed as

“live-in-maid” is very popular.

This group is familiar with many of the issues concerning migrant workers.

• Sometimes language is a problem when it comes to dealing with official instances, laws, etc;

• Exploitation of the workers occurs (e.g. working too many hours);

• Sexual harassment and abuse;

• For this group the foreign currency outflow caused by the migrants deserves attention.

For this group the real issue is how to focus on getting unemployed locals to work instead of

documented or undocumented migrants taking the job opportunities. Many suggestions are made

during the interview. For example, participants stated that there should be a larger gap between

the level of the unemployment benefit and the level of the minimum wage. The local education

system should link better to the requirements on the labour market. Youth should be better

prepared for the labour market and there should be training projects to help them find a job (e.g.

young mothers).

The idea to encourage local born people living abroad to return is well received, but with the

comment that the wages should be better. Cases are mentioned in which remigration has failed

mainly because of difficulties to adapt to the lifestyle of the locals.

Notwithstanding the criticism of the employers this group thinks that the existing practice of

issuing residence and work permits is adequate. Some employers pose a problem because they do

not cooperate enough to make the system work more fluently. According to this group it is the

employer who frequently tries to undermine the system by constantly looking for loopholes in

the system to evade it. For example, there is a lot of falsification of documents. Even of complete

work permits. A lack of control makes this possible.

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3.3.3 Focus Group interviews with NGO’s

In this focus group the general opinion concerning the management of migration is that the

policy is very limited. The migration policy is not structural. It is only aimed at preventing the

entrance (or the expulsion) of “undesirable” foreign born persons. It misses consistency and the

execution of the laws is arbitrary and inhuman, according to them.

This way of dealing with the phenomenon of labour migration leads to illegality

(undocumentedness). Although nobody can give exact figures, all the representatives agree that

the number of labour migrants (documented and undocumented) is large and is still growing. The

Foundation for the Care of Migrants is sure that there are approximately 40.000 labour migrants

currently living in Curaçao. This would mean that the number of labour migrants comprises two-

thirds of the work force of Curaçao. Of these labour migrants the foundation estimates half of

them to be undocumented.

This NGO-group also confirms that the (regional) migrants are primarily from the Dominican

Republic, Colombia, Haiti and Jamaica, regardless of the more restrictive entry policy that

applies for this group.

The Dutch European migrants primarily fulfill the high skilled jobs according to this group.

However, the labour migrants from the Caribbean predominantly work in construction,

hospitality, including the entertainment and sex-industry, housekeeping and retail shops.

Furthermore, hairstyling is a very popular occupation. These are generally the jobs that require

less professional preparation.

The migrants that this focus group deals with in Curaçao left their countries for socio-economic

reasons, sometimes political and even religious reasons. Their move to Curaçao is sometimes

temporarily and serves as a stepping stone to the richer countries in North America and Europe.

The representatives of this focus group are against all kinds of illegality. The government should

have its affairs well arranged and should not allow any illegality. However, the way the

government has handled the grace to the undocumented in 2001 has caused much more illegality.

It just proclaimed the grace and didn’t arrange anything else.

These NGO’s think that the situation at the moment may require another proclamation of a grace

period, but better thought through, including social arrangements.

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The representative of the Foundation for Care of Migrants, who is at the same time a lawyer

specialized in migrant cases has the opinion that the Netherlands Antilles should not exclude

themselves from the international community and that they should have a labour migration policy

based on the UN-resolution 45/158 adopted on December 18th, 1990. There should be a real

migration management directed to integration, because the economic situation will keep asking

for migrant workers. According to him, the absence of such a migration management can only

lead to racist violence and xenophobia.

3.3.4 Focus Group interviews with employers and employment agencies

In the opinion of the employers group, the level of desirability of labour migrants depends for the

greater part on the demands of the labour market. In general, the local supply on the labour

market of Curaçao lacks professionals and specialists in several sectors. For that reason highly

educated labour migrants (knowledge-workers) in the sectors concerned are highly desired.

Curaçao already has enough semi- or unskilled work seekers, so migrants on that educational

level are not desired from a societal point of view. The need for an employee needs to be

investigated thoroughly before one provides a work permit.

The participants in this focus group think that for the lower skilled jobs in the industrial sector

the percentage of foreign employees is estimated to be more than fifty percent. This estimation

consists of both legal and illegal employees. Moreover, it is still growing since the grace to all

the undocumented in 2001. The labour migrants (documented or undocumented) from the region

are, according to them, mainly from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Haiti and

Jamaica. The industries in which they (documented or undocumented) are most active are:

construction, hospitality, cleaning, retail trade, housekeeping. These are semi- or unskilled jobs.

A relatively small number of the labour migrants are specialists or professionals and enter high

level jobs. Most of them are from Cuba.

Several employers in Curaçao prefer to work with migrants, because of the experience that

foreign workers work hard for a low income. This is to their opinion in contrast to the work

attitude of some local employees who seem to have a lower work ethic: “Some local workers

prefer to ‘sit under a tree’ instead of working; report themselves sick easily; or don’t even show

up at all anymore after a while. Many local workers are over-indulged and seem to need a re

education”. Some participants in this group know cases in which, especially the undocumented,

get paid a salary that is below the official minimum wage12. For example one of the

representatives of the private employment agencies has seen clients who wanted to pay only

12 At this moment the official minimum wage is approximately US$ 3.30 gross per hour.

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approximately US $1.65 an hour for cleaning work. On the other hand some participants stated

that foreign employees in general don’t get as badly paid as one might think. The labour migrants

are frequently well enough informed about their rights and also claim them. Still they seem to be

attractive for many employers, because of the previous mentioned work attitude.

Foreign labour migrants are attracted to Curaçao, because of much better earning opportunities

compared to other areas. Also, compared to several surrounding nations poverty rates are not

extremely high and there are some welfare facilities (e.g. free medical assistance for the poor).

Moreover, internationally the Netherlands Antilles are increasingly known to be a country in

which people can easily migrate to. One participant described this news to be spread around by

word of mouth.

Nonetheless the group participants don’t think there is much organized recruitment going on with

concern to labour migration. However, daily a lot of migrants try to enter Curaçao illegally by

boat and especially the Colombians know exactly what to do and where to go, most probably

with the help of Colombians already living in Curaçao. Only in this sense one could speak of a

certain level of organization.

This group of employers and employment agencies has described the process to fulfill the legal

requirements to get labour migrants in the job as “long and tiring”. It depends mainly on the type

of job the work permit is requested for and the knowledge of the employer about appropriate

legislation and regulations. The Island Labour Office (“Dienst ArbeidsZorg” - DAZ) is criticized

by this focus group as being dysfunctional, lacking knowledge and acting arbitrarily.

According to the participants of this group it is this malfunctioning of the government authorities

that causes illegality. A point of discussion was to what extent someone who is in the waiting -

process of getting a permit (or renewal of an expired permit) can be considered illegal. Although

some participants did not agree, others stated that the particular person should be considered

illegal by law (and should be expelled).

This employers group stated clearly that illegality is very undesirable. They say this because

illegal employees get the job positions that otherwise local people or legal migrants could have

gotten. At the same time they are aware that hiring illegal persons provides the employers, in

spite of the risks, with a lot of economical advantages and places them in quite a powerful

position. They do not need to contribute to bonus systems and taxes. Also, it is easy to pay them

a low wage, and let them work for long hours without paying for overtime. Furthermore,

employers can put illegal employees out of work whenever they want. They are also aware of the

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enormous disadvantages from the illegal employee’s point of view, namely the higher risk of

being misused and maltreated; safety measures are scarcely taken for them; and they live in

constant uncertainty. Moreover, the illegal status of the employee not only has negative

consequences for the illegal person himself, but also for the persons’ family.

This focus group indicated that, in general, illegal employees work mostly in the smaller

companies. However, larger contractors often make use of subcontractors to hire personnel.

These subcontractors might make use of illegal employees. Subsequently, the hiring in of illegal

employees in fact appears to happen on all levels. The following illustrates the seriousness of the

issues surrounding undocumented labour migration on Curaçao. One of the participants who

works for a large private employment agency experienced a lot of client-companies calling in the

same period in the need of legal employees. What happened was that all illegal workers of their

client-companies didn’t show up at work at that time after they had found out that the

government authorities were performing a large-scale inspection.

This group was not really supportive to any system of licensing of tradable work permits,

whereby migrant workers would be able to participate more freely in the domestic labour market.

The present system is adequate, but it is the performance of the Island Labour Office that is the

main bottleneck. In their opinion the job of this government office could be much better if they

for example just had an adequate automated system that could make the application procedure

easier and faster. Such a system could contain for example so called positive and negative lists of

occupations for which labour migrants should be admitted or not.

The focus group members have a positive attitude with regard to the issue of encouraging local

born people living abroad to return to the Netherlands Antilles. There are already some

remigration regulations offering incentives. From July 1st a new policy concerning the

admittance (and expulsion) to foreigners is going to be in effect. The groups’ participants are a

lot more positive about this policy than the current policy. The new policy aims, among other

things, to bring about more transparency, instructions and training for public servants. Finally it

holds the employer responsible for relevant actions. In addition, participants have more

confidence in the new minister who seems to be very decisive and firm. On the other hand the

question rises why certain relevant parties weren’t involved in the development of this new

policy. Participants also complain that many organizations on the island work separately on

related topics, often without knowledge of each others work.

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3.3.5 Written interviews with labour unions

Unfortunately the focus group session with the 3 local trade-union federations had to be

cancelled. Alternatively it was decided to mail a list of questions to the presidents of these

federations and to use their written answers for this report. Two representatives sent in their

questionnaires. A report on these answers is presented below.

Labour unions have experienced migrant workers who come to them to denounce maltreatment

of supervisors and managers. That is the reason why recently a new trade union especially for the

migrant workers (documented and undocumented) was founded. It is called the “Sentral General

di Trahadónan di Korsou” (SGTK). The founder of this labour union thinks that there should be

no discrimination of migrant workers, because they have the same rights as any other worker. On

the other hand the other labour union responded that a law should be implemented determining a

repartition of 80 – 20 percent of job positions in companies by respectively locals and foreigners.

In the absence of such a law they see employers employing almost only documented or

undocumented migrant workers so that they can be exploited like in many parts of the world.

Also they, like many others in the focus groups, are under the strong impression that the share of

labour migrants in the workforce is large and still growing. The estimates they use are of

approximately 40.000 foreign born workers, in a workforce of 60.000, of which 20.000 are

undocumented. So, two-thirds of our working population is a labour migrant.

The labour unions also confirm that the majority of the labour migrants come from Colombia,

Dominican Republic and Haiti. In the hotel industry, which one of the respondent’s labour union

represents, the labour migrants are mostly active as housekeepers, stewards and dishwashers in

the kitchen and room-maids. There are some Jamaicans working as entertainers and the Haitians

are mostly working as gardeners and security guards, low paid jobs. Still some of the occupations

in the hotel sector for example require some skills at at least secondary level, for example cooks,

receptionists, bartenders, room-maids. In these occupations one should be able to speak more

than one language. The hotels require this for locals who want to apply for these jobs too.

However, regularly one finds migrant workers doing these jobs, speaking only one language and

needing locals to help them when it comes to speaking other languages. This is some kind of

discrimination against locals according to the representative of the hospitality trade union.

Both the labour unions representatives agree that it is for survival reasons migrants come to

Curaçao. They leave their home country because of the low salaries and few job opportunities,

insufficient social security, often insecurity in general and sometimes political motives. But most

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of the time it is critical poverty that drives them though. Apparently the migrants consider

Curaçao to have better employment conditions and they expect a better life over here.

Both representatives of the trade unions have the strong impression that migration is the result of

some kind of organized recruitment or even human trafficking. They point to the fact that often

these foreigners try to reach the island by boat. Another less organized way of recruitment is the

phenomenon whereby labour migrants already working on the island make arrangements with

their employers to bring in more fellow-countrymen.

One of the respondents did not believe that there are many industries that really depend on

migrant labour. Nonetheless in the hospitality industry, especially now that many new hotels are

being built, it is already predicted that migrants will be needed to fill the vacancies that are

expected. If nothing is done it will become a long-term problem. It is considered by one

representative of this group that it is very difficult for an employer to fill vacancies with foreign

workers with all the normal legal requirements, unless one has connections in government

circles. That also drives employers to employ undocumented migrants.

But the main reasons why employers employ undocumented labour migrants is the fact that

employers accuse local workers of having a bad work mentality (lazy) and they don’t want to pay

the minimum wages stated by law. The employers think that they can pay lower wages to the

labour migrants and that they are more productive and obedient. Undocumented workers are

exploited. It was stated that some female workers are sexually harassed. The representative of the

SGTK has handled cases in which these migrants were misused by threatening them with

expulsion.

In principle both unions are against illegality. They believe that the undocumented are the ones

that take away the job opportunities from the locals, because they sell themselves for lower

wages and consequently distort the official wage structure. In a certain sense it is also not

favorable for the social security and pensions funds on the island, because employers do not

contribute to these funds on behalf of the undocumented workers. No taxes are paid. Nonetheless

the SGTK insist that also the undocumented should be respected as workers, as human beings.

Still, a lot of migrant workers, documented and undocumented, have yet to join the SGTK. They

first would like to be guarantor for all the undocumented. Secondly SGTK thinks they should all

be “legalized”, so that everyone should be obliged to contribute to health insurance, a life

insurance and an accident insurance. Also this would prevent that employers pay these migrant

workers below official minimum wage level. Consequently this would prevent a downward

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pressure on the wage levels. All in all this would be beneficial against criminality. However to

make all this possible they still depend on the Minister of Justice who has to modify a stipulation

in the existing migratory laws.

Both labour unions agree that there should be encouragement and incentives for nationals living

abroad to return and work on the domestic labour market. However, it will be necessary to

change the mentality of the employers.

According to the respondents, the migration policy is very bad and that is the reason why the

unemployment rate is so large. It is outdated and the politicians do not want to accept the reality

that they have created themselves. Especially the SGTK would like to see a policy based on the

“International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members

of Their Families” adopted by the UN in resolution 45/158 of 18 December 1990.

3.3.6 General conclusions

On some points there is a lot of consensus between the different groups. For example all the

groups agree that we are dealing with a problem of great magnitude. Only based on perception

everyone agrees about which of the migrant groups are most present on the island. Everyone also

knows in what kind of occupations they are mostly active. There is a general consensus about the

reasons for migrants to leave their country of origin and about the main factors that attract

migrants to the Netherlands Antilles. On the other hand this set of group interviews has also

made clear that there are some issues on which participants disagree; some believe for example

that there should be a much more restrictive policy on labour migrants, while others would like to

see a more tolerant policy. Besides that there is also a growing consciousness that this issue

should be handled with in a more integral and data-driven way. Yet, in several of these focus

group interviews a certain sense of feeling incapable to handle this issue effectively could be

observed. They don’t exactly know how to deal with the different problems and issues. The

government authorities lack all sorts of resources (data, personnel, material, and finance) for this.

3.4 Interviews with labour migrants

In the following sections four typical cases of labour migrants for the Curaçao context are

presented. There are many more different possible situations, but these cases serve as an

illustration of the legal and formal labour migration in Curaçao.

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3.4.1 Labour migrant interview: case 1

41 year old Mrs. M is born in the Dominican Republic and lives in Curaçao since 2001. Before

that she lived some time in Panama, but returned to the Dominican Republic. She then came to

Curaçao financed with her personal savings and with the intention to find better earning

opportunities. After a few months her visa expired and she remained illegally on the island.

However that was just a few months before the general grace to all the undocumented migrants

on the island was proclaimed, so she applied immediately for a regularized status. Since then her

residence status and work permit status is regularized through her present employer.

It was her sister-in-law that told her about the possibilities for work in Curaçao. Once in Curaçao

it was the sister of her sister-in-law that knew about a job-opportunity in housekeeping. She now

works as the sole cleaning woman for a company with more than one branch-office. That makes

the job very hard, but still she is content with the job. In spite of strong indications that her

employer is retaining from her wage much more than legally is required for wage-tax, social

security and pension funds. Her only needs would be then some protection against this unfair

practice of her employer. For the rest she thinks that she can make use of all types of normal

public services (especially health) available to her.

The motives for her stay on Curaçao are to earn cash that she partly sends back home to her

immediate family (mother and three children) to meet their basic needs and schooling costs. She

doesn’t think she will remain in Curaçao. A stable relationship with a local born man would be

the most important condition for her to stay permanently.

3.4.2 Labour migrant interview: case 2

Mrs. G. is 42 year old and also comes from the Dominican Republic. She came to Curaçao in the

year 2000. She had never before lived and worked in any other country than the Dominican

Republic. After her husband died in 1996, leaving her with four young children, her economic

situation at home became very difficult. In spite of her training as an assistant nurse and her great

skills as a hairdresser she could not meet her ends in her home country. It was a friend of hers

that told her about the earning possibilities as hairdresser in Curaçao. In the year 2000 she

concluded that her two oldest children were grown enough to take care of the two younger

children, which made her take the final the decision to leave to Curaçao. She financed this trip

with her personal savings.

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She came to Curaçao with the specific intention to look for a job as a hairdresser. She

immediately applied for a job opportunity in a hairdressers shop. After that she worked in several

hairdressers shops. The hairdresser’s branch in Curaçao depends very much on various seasons

during the year. There is a tendency especially in this branch to underpay the workers. Mrs. G.

has experienced these practices. Moreover, in that first year, she could not find an employer that

was willing to help her regulate her work permit and residence status. In the meantime she

became related with a local man with whom she signed a cohabitation-contract. With this

contract it was possible (until recently) to get a residence and work permit13. However, it was

taking her too much time and still her residence and work status were not regularized when the

authorities announced the grace-period to all the undocumented migrants in the year 2001.

She also applied for this grace-period. Since then her residence and work status is regularized. In

the meantime she got into a new relationship with a local man with whom she has a new

cohabitation-contract. Together they started a small hairdressers-salon at home. She is not

officially registered by her partner as owner, but as trustee on behalf of the owner. In fact she is

an own account worker. She is very content with this arrangement, because it gives her enough

earnings to maintain especially her two younger children. Every month she is able to send

approximately US$ 225,-. It is not only to meet their basics needs, but also to improve their

living conditions beyond those basic needs.

She expects to stay in Curaçao permanently. Her children are growing up and will not need her

help anymore. Her own security lies in Curaçao together with her present partner.

3.4.3 Labour migrant interview: case 3.

Mr. N. is a native of Haiti and is 32 years old. He is living in Curaçao as a labour migrant since

1988. He was 14 when he came to the island for the first time. Since then he became the father of

two children with two local women and he owns a small gardening company (together with his

present partner). His work and residence status is regularized and he doesn’t intent to ever return

to Haiti. He has established himself permanently in Curaçao.

Before 1988 he used to visit Curaçao together with his aunt on her short business trips. At home

he was still attending school and he used to help his mother in cooking and selling food items.

Finally he decided to migrate to Curaçao to give himself better earning opportunities and a more

prosperous life in material sense. For his first job in Curaçao he went directly to the managers of

13 From July 1st this will not be the case anymore

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a local guard dog’s brigade and worked some time as a dog-handler. Apparently he had some

basic knowledge and skill of veterinary practices.

He is very content with his present job and the acceptance he has enjoyed up to now from

nationals in the host country. All public services in Curaçao are free for him and his two children

to use. The only thing he would like to see is a more fair competition from other companies in

the same branch of gardening. He sees a lot of illegality in that branch where own account

workers work without paying any form of tax or contribute to any social security fund.

He does maintain contacts with his mother and some other relatives and friends; he irregularly

sends some money or goods to his mother.

3.4.4 Labour migrant interview: case 4.

Mr. J. is 29 year old, born in Venezuela and lives in Curaçao since the year 2000 with his Cuban-

born wife and 1-year-old child. He sells imported hair products and is the proprietor of a chain of

hairdresser’s shops that employs approximately 30 persons. For now he doesn’t intend to leave.

He knew Curaçao from earlier visits to the island as a tourist. In Venezuela he was working as a

sales manager for a German company in hair products. So he had some earlier experience and

management skills in that branch and he saw opportunities to establish himself in Curaçao. His

decision to leave Venezuela was due to the monetary instability and unsafety over there.

Up to now he is very pleased with the treatment he has received especially from, what he calls

“the common people on the street”, but the treatment of government authorities could be better.

Although his residence and work status is regularized, he would like to see that the authorities

make it easier for someone who owns such a big enterprise to have his/her residence and work

permits. For example, they could grant those permits for longer periods (and not all the time for

only a year).

He does maintain some (social) contacts with friends, relatives and immediate family at home,

but he never sends any money or material goods to any of his contacts. None of them really need

his help because they are all prosperous people.

3.4.5 Conclusions

In the cases studied the migrant’s decision to leave his/her home country is based on what they

consider quite accurate information about Curaçao from friends and relatives. Sometimes the

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migrant has come to Curaçao a few times earlier for shorter periods in which they explore

earning opportunities and then decide to migrate for a longer (sometimes permanent) period.

There wasn’t any indication here that the migrant’s choice to come to Curaçao was based on

some recruiting effort from somewhere.

Paid employees seem to be satisfied with their job arrangements. A (formal) paid job gives the

possibility to regulate their work permit and residence status. Still there is some fear to denounce

to the local labour authorities unfair practices of the employers. This indicates a more vulnerable

position compared to nationals in the labour market.

If the labour migrants enter into a stable relationship with a local person that can give them some

security for the older days, they are willing to stay indefinitely in Curaçao. It should be taken into

account that the immediate family (e.g. young children) at home gradually becomes independent.

So, it is not that strange that some migrants gradually prefer to stay in the host country.

3.5 Interviews with consulates of migrant countries

All statistical information indicates that the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Haiti are by far

the three most important regional sources of migrant’s to Curaçao. In this section the interviews

with the diplomatic representation of the Dominican Republic and Haiti are presented. All efforts

to realize the same interview with a representative of Colombia before the deadline for

presentation of the NER failed unfortunately. It should be explained here that Curaçao doesn’t

have embassies as diplomatic representations of countries, but only consulates that have less

responsibilities compared to embassies. This also means that the role of the consulates in

facilitating the migration policies and priorities of their home governments for example related to

visa processing, or in supporting any private (commercial) recruitment effort is limited.

3.5.1 Interview with the consul of the Dominican Republic.

The consul cannot give any figures about the number of documented or undocumented

Dominicans living in Curaçao. They do no keep track of those statistics. Still she is strongly

convinced that the numbers of Dominicans living in Curaçao will decrease. This is because of the

economic growth that is taking place in the Dominican Republic under the present government.

There is now much more monetary stability and there are positive developments taking place in

the tourist and construction sector.

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In the Dominican case women are predominantly present in Curaçao. The consul recognizes that

and explains it with the main responsibility of women with regard to family care. These migrant

women are especially active as hairdressers and domestic workers. Besides that they are very

present in catering establishments, the so called “snack-bars”, working as what one might call

“entertainment-girls”. These are obviously unskilled or low skilled occupations. Because of

insufficient earning possibilities in the home country sometimes the practitioners of these

occupations are people with even secondary education or a formal training. A small number has a

completed tertiary education and is working in higher level jobs (e.g. doctors, psychologists,

technicians, agronomists and clergymen).

The consulate performs the normal consular services for their nationals in Curaçao, including

guidance and protection when needed. They are not active in any form as recruiters of migrant

workers or sponsors of recruiting efforts of businesses in Curaçao or in the Dominican Republic.

3.5.2 Interview with consul of Haiti.

The consul states that it’s very hard to give a valid estimate of the number of Haitians,

documented and undocumented, living in the Netherlands Antilles. As a consulate they do not

collect actual data on that. Nonetheless he observes that a growing number of Haitians are not

really staying in the Netherlands Antilles, but just pass through the islands (especially St.

Maarten) on their way to other, more profitable areas in the north. Another tentative conclusion

on his side shows that the number of Haitians on the islands is decreasing, because of a

worsening economic situation in the Netherlands Antilles.

The consul estimates that the majority of the Haitian migrants are male. This differs from other

migrant groups, because of the fairly stable family situation among Haitians and the culturally

assigned responsibility to the man to earn a living for his family. This is a responsibility which is

taken up by most Haitian men. Some Haitian migrants in Curaçao come from the poor urban

areas, but most of them come from the rural areas of Haiti, especially the south. That gives them

an agricultural background. As a consequence a lot of the Haitian male labour migrants work as

gardeners. For females the domestic labour is dominant. They are quite young and have a lower

than average education level, especially the undocumented Haitians. Apart from that, he observes

no significant differences between documented and undocumented Haitian migrants.

Because of the constant political instability the Republic of Haiti does not have a policy

regarding migration. The consulate as such does not promote any policies. There is no

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communication between his consulate and the local authorities, a situation he regrets and sees as

a missed opportunity.

3.5.3 Conclusions

The first impression is that the consulates in Curaçao do not have the facilities to collect accurate

data on migration of their fellow countrymen. When this issue was addressed, both consuls

explained that there certainly is the desire to have more data, but lack of staff and funds prevents

this.

Both consuls expect a gradual decrease in numbers of their fellow countrymen. The Netherlands

Antilles are a ‘hub’ for migration: some stay for a while but move on to more prosperous

countries like the United States or The Netherlands.

The labour migrants from these countries are described as low or medium skilled. The

undocumented migrants basically have the same educational level, though in some cases a bit

lower. They work in industries which were also mentioned in the focus group sessions: retail

trade, cleaning, domestic and hospitality. One substantial difference between the two groups

though is the division between sexes. Dominican migrants are predominantly female, Haitian

migrant groups consist of relatively more males.

In neither case is there an active role or responsibility in the migration policy of their country.

Both countries do not have active migration policies. One should take into account that

consulates have different responsibilities compared to embassies. The limited range of tasks

would prevent them from getting into these issues. One consul stated though that they assist in

parties of entrepreneurs to The Netherlands Antilles.

Both consuls expressed the desire to be more involved in migration policy in the Netherlands

Antilles. There is hardly any contact with the local relevant authorities, and they are willing to

partake in any actions or assemblies regarding the subject of labour migration.

3.6 Nature and characteristics of labour migration

In the following we describe the nature and characteristics of labour migrants. These narratives

are based on opinions of the participants in the sessions and interviews. If relevant we also

provide some links to available statistics.

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3.6.1 Nature of labour migrants

Most participants stress the hard working nature of labour migrants: they are totally dedicated to

finding a job and keeping it, as their families abroad and at home depend on them economically.

This also means that labour migrants, according to participants, sacrifice a lot to keep their jobs:

they work relatively long hours. Some participants even state that labour migrants have to put up

with inhuman practices which are close or belong to the realm of illegality.

3.6.2 Characteristics of labour migrants

3.6.2.1 Age and Sex distribution Statistical and qualitative data gathered from the focus groups show an interesting distribution

with regard to age and gender among the different labour migrant groups. The labour migrants

from the Latin Caribbean region are fairly young and mostly in their 20s and 30s.

The migrant age pattern changes though with the process of family reunification, during which

children and elder family members are brought to the island. This is a characteristic tendency of

the labour migrants which could be found in available data on the subject and the perceptions of

the participants in the focus groups.

Sex distribution differs. According to the participants, females are predominant in labour

immigrant groups from Colombia and the Dominican Republic. Haitian labour migrants are

predominantly male though, which basically is acknowledged by available data. One participant

stated that distinctions between matriarchal and patriarchal family structures explain the sex

differences between the various immigrant groups.

3.6.2.2 Nationality The following nationalities were mentioned during the interviews and sessions:

1. Dominican

2. Colombian

3. Haitian

These countries are also prominently featured in statistics on the subject.

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A growing number of migrants gains a Dutch nationality via naturalization. It is assumed though

that their previous nationality follows the lines of the above mentioned popular nationalities.

3.6.2.3 Country of birth The most popular nations that were mentioned in the focus group sessions and the interviews

with consuls are the following:

1. Dominican Republic

2. Colombia

3. Jamaica

4. Haiti

5. Surinam

Other countries that were mentioned are India, China, Venezuela, Lebanon and The Netherlands.

These countries are also evident in relevant statistics. Concerning the latter country: this group of

migrants was not explicitly included in this survey: their background and motives differ

substantially from other labour migrants. Also hey are not discernable on the basis of nationality

which means that different rules apply to them. Therefore, they are not part of any policies

regarding migrants.

3.6.2.4 Country of most recent residence Most migrants arrive directly from their native country. Recent reports show though that

migrants travel through France, the Netherlands and Surinam before getting to the Netherlands

Antilles. It is not known though if these individuals resided in these countries before arriving

here, and we don’t have any valuable statistics on the subject to explore it further.

3.7 Migrant participation in the domestic labour force

In Curaçao 69% of the total employed population within the household branch is considered a

migrant (Modus Statistisch Magazine, 2003). Migrant groups such as Colombians, Dominicans,

Jamaicans and Haitians are the dominant ethnic groups involved in domestic labour. They work

in local households all over the island. Many times they work in several households at different

days of the week, or combine jobs.

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Their pay is generally just. The Indians involved in domestic labour, however, are directly

contracted from India to a local established Indian family. They work extremely long hours

exclusively for that family and many times for a low pay.

The last few years a trend is observable, whereby growing numbers of Colombians, Dominicans

and Jamaicans are hired in private households to take care of the elderly and at the same time to

combine this with light cleaning work.

The representation of the above mentioned migrant groups in the population of Curaçao has

grown over the last five years dramatically in number (Island Registry 2000, 2005), suggesting

also a larger number of each group involved in private households. However, there are no current

statistics available of the number of each group employed in the domestic work-force, neither of

their legal status.

The dynamics in this branch of work are hard to keep track off, because of it’s informal

character. Most of the time a ‘newcomer’ gets a job through referral from a person of the same

migrant group, perpetuating thus a network system of inter-group job referrals.

The information used in this section is extracted from quantitative data as well as qualitative data

from the focus group sessions.

3.8 Issues surrounding migration management

During the focus group sessions and the interviews with migrants and consulates several

questions about the present migration policy were addressed. A substantial part of the answers

have a link with migration management. In the following we will try to give an overview of the

topics which were brought up during these sessions. We have to point out though that these

views can hardly be called representative for an entire group of stakeholders. Collecting all these

views in one chapter gives us an opportunity to look at the broad spectrum of challenges

migration management has to deal with.

Furthermore: the evaluation of Migration Management for the situation of the Netherlands

Antilles is quite ambivalent, because of major revisions of the present policies which are taking

place as of July 1st. We need to take into account that some remarks were made with the former

migration policy in mind, while others reflect on the implications of the new revised migration

policy.

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Finally, some, but not all of the remarks corroborate the conclusions from official documents

regarding migration management. We will try to designate to what extent the issues that are dealt

with are also part of discussion in official documentation.

Generally, the issues surrounding Migration Management can be classified as follows:

3.8.1 Policy and communication

During most sessions a mildly positive attitude towards the migration policy could be observed.

Some participants made clear that their main concern lies in the execution and communication of

the policy, which is a definite responsibility for the managing institutions such as the Island

Labour Office and Immigration. Lack of management would stimulate undocumented

immigration, as would a lack of transparency, something which was also concluded in the Bodde

Report (2003) and by Nisbet, Tielen and Van der Biezen (2006).

Concerning execution: some participants pointed out that there is an inconsistency in the way the

policies are explained by the front offices such as the Island Information Counter (“Bentana di

Informashon”) and Immigration (‘Vreemdelingendienst’). This leads to confusion and in some

cases drop outs of applicants and possible undocumented immigration. The suggestion was made

that focused training sessions for front office employees could tackle these problems. In some

cases these employees haven’t had proper training for over five years. The relevant managing

institutions should take training opportunities into account.

Furthermore, participants made clear that the present policy regarding migration should not be

seen as a static body of work. The policy is dynamic and under the influence of global

developments regarding economics and politics. This means that the policy should be based on a

clear view of the economic needs of the Netherlands Antilles. In some sessions a conditional

admittance was suggested. Although the present policy already has some elements of this

incorporated (Chinese cooks), it is suggested that a more elaborate overview of wanted and

unwanted functions within the workforce would make the present policy a much better

functioning system. The relevant institutions should be equipped with a clear view of the present

and future labour situation, to give valuable input into a dynamic migration policy. This point of

view was already expressed in 2003, when the deputy for labour affairs called for an explicit

labour plan, which would rule out any inconsistencies and stimulate a dynamic up to date

migration policy (Memorandum Constancia, November 19th 2003). Other reports suggest

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detailed analyses and policy outlines on the problems of migration for different sectors such as

public health and education (Nisbet et al, 2006).

In addition, several participants mention the lack of current statistics regarding labour migration

as a deficiency in the present policy making. The relevant managing institutions should have

actual data at hand to base their policies on. In some cases policies are made based on ten year

old data. More means should be made available for producing relevant data on the subject.

Finally, the issue of communication was addressed quite prominently by the participants. Firstly,

the communication of the present policy towards stakeholders should be a main issue for the

managing institutions. All efforts should be made to make the present policy available for all

concerned. This means that managing the policy is not only about policy making and execution,

but also about a good communication strategy concerning the policy. Secondly, some

participants pointed out that the Netherlands Antilles in general, and Curaçao in particular have

an image of ‘being easy on immigration’. This would lead to more (un)documented labour

migrants. A good communication of our strict policy regarding labour migration would function

as a deterrent towards undesired labour migration. The communication strategy for the new

guidelines of the LTU shows an increased emphasis on this subject (Herziene Richtlijnen voor

LTU, 2006)

3.8.2 Funds and human resources

A major issue, according to the participants and research is a lack of funds and a well trained

workforce within relevant institutions (Bodde, 2003, Nisbet et al., 2006). This would pose a

serious threat for the successful implementation of the present policy. Lack of staff means that

some important tasks cannot not be performed or at best partially. The view that immigration

policy is regarded as a priority is not reflected in the funds that are made available for creating a

potent workforce. This also implies the supply of up to date training courses, which was referred

to earlier on.

Lack of funds also means that the process of tracking down and deporting undocumented labour

migrants is frustrated. Participants point out that the relevant institutions rely on inhabitants

regarding the gathering of data: no funds are available for professional intelligence. The police

force also suffers from these problems, which results in situations were the relevant officers have

the data of the whereabouts of undocumented labour migrants but are not able to pick them up.

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The entire chain of intelligence, tracking down and deporting is weakened by this problem, and

as such the successful execution of the present policy.

3.8.3 Synergy

The main goal for organizing the focus group sessions is to provide a broad overview of the

present situation regarding labour migration by bringing together the stakeholders.

Unfortunately, some participants point out that this method is not exemplary for the way policies

are designed and executed. There is a lack of synergy in the present policy, and both participants

and some analyses of the subject express the desire to see each other on a more frequent basis

(Bodde, 2003). There is a huge potential, based on knowledge and managerial capacities which is

not used at the moment.

This problem is enhanced by the two different layers of government within the Netherlands

Antilles. Firstly there is the national level, but every island has its own local equivalent. This

means that double the amount of people are working on the same topic, often without any

interaction between the two. The participants stress the importance of some kind of cooperation

based on mutual interests. Fundamental is coordination between the different stakeholders. One

has to take into account though that as of July 1st 2007, the Netherlands Antilles will cease to

exist. This means that a layer will disappear, which could lead to more cooperation.

3.9 Industry and enterprise-level issues surrounding labour migration

Focus group participants state that the demand for migrant workers has increased on the island. It

concerns a section of the population that came to Curaçao mainly for socio-economic reasons.

They are highly motivated to work.

Generally, they will take any job, often for long hours in a row and at any pay. As seen in

previous sections, migrant workers are noticeable in all industries. Some groups are more

outspoken than others and are also more inclined to look for their rights.

Being in a crucial survival situation – find a job, house, eat, send money back home – has opened

doors for illegal procedures and has simultaneously induced in many cases an abusive work-

relationship, in which employers threaten their workers whenever they do not comply with their

demands. Consequently, migrant workers are likely to receive lower payments than locals. In

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general the migrant with an illegal status will accept the payment without complaints out of fear

of being deported.

An overall perception within the local community prevails that migrant workers are better

workers than locals. The question comes up though, if this is rather a perception out of

convenience from the employer’s perspectives and needs.

Informal information shows the following distribution of migrants per job:

• Agriculture: Haitians, Chinese and Colombians;

• Manufacturing: Colombians and Dominicans;

• Construction: Colombians, Haitians and Peruvians;

• Wholesale and retail: Dominicans, Colombians and Haitians;

• Hospitality: Colombians and Venezuelans;

• Domestic labour: Jamaicans, Dominicans, Haitians and Colombians.

Informal information suggests a significant number of Latin-Caribbean women in the

entertainment business. Colombians seem to be the most versatile workers.

The migrants with a high education level are generally directly contracted from abroad for a

specific job and are likely to be found in professional occupations.

3.10 General conclusions and recommendations

There is consensus regarding certain aspects in labour migration management. For example, the

findings in the statistics section and the interviews with focus groups show a fairly clear view on

migration dynamics; we know which countries the immigrants are coming from (mainly the

Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, Jamaica and Guyana) and which economic activities they

undertake (Hospitality industry, Retail-, Wholesale trade, Domestic Labour and Construction).

This study shows that there is consensus among stakeholders about the problems the Antillean

society is faced with regard to labour migration. Some very explicit aspects are mentioned, such

as outflow of funds to other countries and the sometimes serious circumstances under which

labour migrants have to perform their work. Furthermore, we have a basic understanding of the

issues relating to labour migration. There is a system of regulations (the ‘Landsverordening

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Toelating en Uitzetting’- LTU and ‘Landsverordening Arbeid Vreemdelingen’ – LAV) in which

the LTU was recently updated and several stakeholders were actively involved in the process.

However, there are breaches in implementing the migration policy as there is a lack of

information about the circumstances under which labour migrants live, the relevant trends and

the extent to which the migrant issue has an impact on our society.

There is an urgent need of regular supply of accurate statistical data on the subject of

migration from all the related services and institutions in order to observe trends. For example,

there are no data on undocumented labour migrants, which is quite logical taken in consideration

the nature of this group. Also no data are found on income levels of labour migrants.

Furthermore, the available data often show gaps in time and various aspects are addressed

differently on every island. This would implicate a better cooperation between relevant

institutions and consequently a better understanding on the issue of migration policy.

Regarding the characteristics of labour migrants, this study confirms that the group of labour

migrants consists of various groups, coming from different countries and with different

backgrounds and motives. The interviews with migrants illustrate these variations, and it could

be fruitful to implement these ‘grassroots observations’ in present policies. A differentiation

concerning these different backgrounds would be welcomed in policy making. A better

cooperation between the government and friendship societies and consulates in this regard could

be helpful. This is a good opportunity to create vital coalitions. Every party involved expressed

willingness to cooperate in order to improve labour migration management. We should grasp

these opportunities because there is a mutual interest involved.

One could also conclude that a better understanding of the economic effects of labour

migration is essential in creating and developing effective labour migration policies.

One of the most heavily discussed topics in the focus groups was the lack of data on

undocumented labour migrants. Furthermore, there are no records available how much of their

income is spent here as opposed to the funds they send out to their families abroad. Future

research on the economic impact of migration on the Netherlands Antilles surely could contribute

to an integral approach of migration policy. This would also help in bringing back this issue to its

actual proportions: a superficial view on the subject would almost certainly lead to more

negativism and drastic solutions.

Finally there is a need to strengthen and optimize the framework for carrying out migration

policies. The performance of the present and new policy is often frustrated by the lack of staff

and funds. This problem was mentioned by various stakeholders. Several studies show this

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problem (such as the reports of Bodde and Nisbet et al), various solutions have been suggested

and responsible institutions are willing to take up the challenge to improve the practices

regarding migration policy. Further analysis and regular monitoring could surely contribute to

optimizing the framework for carrying out migration policies. The recent introduction of new

guidelines for the ‘LTU’ and future changes in the structure of the Netherlands Antilles create

even more momentum for these changes.

In summary, this study shows a clear interest from various parties regarding labour migration.

There is a structure in place with the present regulations, but a better understanding of the

dynamics and characteristics of labour migration would be helpful in anticipating future changes

and implementing these policies successfully. This would mean a more regular supply of relevant

data, more information on the backgrounds of labour migrants and more knowledge on the

economic aspects of labour migration. Finally, there is the basic need to strengthen the

governmental framework of labour migration management by supplying more funds and staff. If

these aspects are taken into account, the Netherlands Antilles are well equipped to take on the

challenges that lie ahead of managing labour migration within their territory.

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4. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

in the Netherlands Antilles

A contribution to the regional discussion on reforming TVET institutions and accreditation

systems for improved skills and enhanced employability in Caribbean labour markets

Toppenberg, H., Brenters, J. (2006).

4.1 Introduction

This chapter focuses on the link between TVET and the labour market. The titles of the sections

and subsections in this report are copied from the ILO guidelines on this topic.

4.1.1 Socio/economic history of the country up to present day14

The island group Netherlands Antilles is an autonomous part of the Netherlands (2005 estimated

pop. 185,513; 800 sq km, source CBS). Formerly known as the Dutch West Indies and

Netherlands West Indies, they are divided into two groups. Lying off Venezuela are Bonaire and

Curaçao also called the Leeward Islands. East of Puerto Rico, are Saba, St. Eustatius, and the

southern half of St. Maarten, together known as the Windward Islands. Willemstad, on Curaçao,

is the capital of the Netherlands Antilles. The land is mainly hilly and semiarid; the climate is

tropical with northeast trade winds.

When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, the region was inhabited by Arawaks and Caribs.

The islands were captured by the Dutch in the 17th century and were worked by the many

African slaves who were brought to their shores. Slavery was abolished in 1863 and the economy

faltered until the oil industry began to flourish in the 20th century. The Netherlands Antilles

became autonomous in 1954, and Aruba was separated from the group in 1986. In 2004 a

government commission recommended splitting up the Netherlands Antilles, giving St. Maarten

and Curaçao autonomy and establishing direct Dutch rule over the other islands. In a series of

14 Sources: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nt.html; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherland_Antilles#Miscellaneous_topics; http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/22528.htm; http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0198163.html

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referendums the populations largely seconded this proposal, except on St. Eustatius, where they

voted to preserve the status quo.

The majority of the people on the Netherlands Antilles is Christian and has a mixed African

background. The official language is Dutch, but in the Leeward Islands Papiamento (a Spanish-

Portuguese-Dutch-English lingua franca) is the predominant language. In the Windward Islands,

the common language is English. Spanish is also spoken on all five islands.

Tourism and financial services have been the mainstays of the Netherlands Antilles’ economy

since the 1970s. The economy lacks major agriculture but is equipped with a considerable oil

industry. The late 1980s and early 1990s brought growth, but hurricanes, pressure on the offshore

sector, tighter monetary policy, and debt accumulation have caused contraction since 1996. High

debt led the Government of the Netherlands Antilles to seek assistance from the IMF and the

Dutch Government, through the IMF's Structural Adjustment Program. The current

administration seeks to lessen dependency on the IMF. The unemployment rate remains high

(Curacao 2005: 18,2%; Bonaire 2004: 8,9%; St. Maarten 2005, 13,4%; source CBS) and the

youth unemployment rate even higher (Curacao 2005: 44,0%; Bonaire 2004: 25,2%; St. Maarten

2005: 30,4%; source CBS), though the Central Bank is predicting modest recovery of demand

and perhaps even growth in the near future. Overall, the islands enjoy a high per capita income

and a well-developed infrastructure compared to other countries in the region.

4.1.2 The major areas of economic activity and employment

Economic activity can be derived from table 1. In 2002 a quarter of the gross domestic product

was generated by trade. Other important sectors were real estate, renting and business activities;

private education and financial intermediation. The contribution of hotels and restaurants to GDP

is low compared to the employment generated by this industry.

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I

Table 4.1, Gross Domestic Product by Industry and by kind of economic activity in the Netherlands Antilles (2002, mln ANG. According to SNA 68. These are estimates.

ISIC Industry / Economic activity GDP Percentage

A+B+C Agriculture, fishing and mining 27 1%

D Manufacturing 229.5 5%

E Electricity, gas and water 177.2 4%

F Construction 211 5%

G Trade 1098 25%

H Hotels and restaurants 212.1 5%

Transport, storage and communications 430.8 10%

J Financial intermediation 635.5 15%

K+M Real estate, renting and business activities; private education 858.3 20%

N Health and social work 202.6 5%

O+Q Other community, social and personal service activities 224.3 5%

Total 4306.3 100%

Source: http://www.central-bureau-of-statistics.an/SNA/SNAP13.asp

Table 2 shows figures related to employment in the Netherlands Antilles. The three most

important employers sectors are: trade, tourism and public administration

Table 4.2, Employed Population by Economic Activity.

2005 Curaçao Bonaire St. Maarten

Agriculture, fishing and mining 404 1% 72 2% 207 1%

Manufacturing 3583 7% 196 4% 566 3%

Electricity, gas and water 612 1% 47 1% 289 2%

Construction 3429 7% 395 8% 1685 9%

Wholesale and Retail 9719 19% 748 16% 3557 20%

Restaurants and hotels 4046 8% 803 17% 2820 16%

Transport and storage 3296 6% 309 7% 1519 8%

Financial intermediation 3673 7% 148 3% 601 3%

Real estate, renting 4878 10% 299 6% 1646 9%

Public administration/Social sec. 4885 10% 631 14% 1547 9%

Education 2254 4% 193 4% 402 2%

Health/Soc.work 4362 8% 371 8% 510 3%

Other community 3596 7% 337 7% 1880 10%

Private households 2482 5% 98 2% 770 4%

Total 51343 100% 4661 100% 18073 100%

Source: http://www.central-bureau-of-statistics.an/labour/labour_h1.asp Note: Recent statistics for Saba and St. Eustatius are not available

4.1.3 The country’s export base and competitiveness

The Netherlands Antilles do not have a large export potential: in 2004 exports amounted an

estimated $2.076 billion, while imports were $4.383 billion.

On Curaçao the largest share of exports is obtained in the machinery and transport equipment

sector. This is merely the result of the activities of the Curaçao dry-dock. The current

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competiveness position of this latter sector is rather good due to the low price of the dollar

compared to the euro. This means that ship repairs can be done relatively cheap. For details on

the country’s export base see table 4.3. This table shows exports for Curacao excluding oil and

oil products. Including the latter total exports would be some twenty times higher.

Table 4.3. Exports by SITC Section.

Curaçao

2004, 1.000 ANG F.O.B. Bonaire (Excluding oil products)

Food and live animals 4249 18% 34858 25%

Beverages and tobacco 0 0% 3601 3%

Crude materials, inedible, except fuels 16390 70% 4611 3%

Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials 1 0% 0 0%

Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes 0 0% 100 0%

Chemicals and related products, n.e.s 18 0% 6716 5%

Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material 259 1% 7997 6%

Machinery and transport equipment 1621 7% 51684 37%

Miscellaneous manufactured articles 952 4% 20672 15%

Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere in the SITC 0 0% 10768 8%

Total 23490 100% 141007 100%

Source: http://www.central-bureau-of-statistics.an/trade/trade_m5.asp;

http://www.central-bureau-of-statistics.an/trade/trade_m3.asp.

Note : Relevant statistics for St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius are not available

4.1.3.1 The stated objectives for social development, economic growth, diversification and export competitiveness

Table 4.4. Social devel

Social development Economic growth Export competitiveness

Renewing the educational system.

Improvement of the poor districts

Increasing efficiency of health care.

Improving the legal order:

Creating a safer society will

improve the quality of lives.

Reducing criminality by means of

Plan Safety Netherlands Antilles.

Combating money laundering.

Involving community in the

fighting of crime.

Stimulating employment

Especially youngsters.

Creating, better match between

education and labour market.

Attracting investments.

Improving the financial housekeeping.

Labour market flexibilization.

Adaptation of the dismissal law.

Improving the legal order (see sub-

points left column).

Improving connection with:

International organizations

Regional trade blocks

Bilateral treaties

Creating an export policy and execute

agreements with the sectors will

support the extension of the

export.

Source: transition agreement 2006-2007, government of the Netherlands Antilles.

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4.2 The Current state of the TVET system in the Netherlands Antilles

4.2.1 The TVET institutional structure (for work/labour force training, assessment

and certification)

4.2.1.1 Institutions (public and private), their profile (see Annex 1) and their responsibilities involved

Table 4.5 . Vocational education graduates (full time education)

1992-1993 1997-1998 2000-2001

Bonaire; Junior 59 84 82

Curaçao; Junior 811 848 594

Curaçao; Senior 67 272 274

Curaçao; Teachers training 96 37 28

Curaçao; University 26 62 70

Saba; Junior n.a. n.a. 1

St. Eustatius; Junior 15 17 7

St. Marten; Junior 68 116 105

St.Maarten; University (AA degree) n.a n.a 23

Total 1142 1436 1184 n.a. = not available

Source: CBS, Statistical yearbook 1996, 2000 and 2003

4.2.2 National TVET objectives and priorities

4.2.2.1 Institutional reform

Since 2003 the Netherlands Antilles has a new education structure. The most important

educational reform from a labour market perspective is the introduction of the VSBO

(Preparatory Secondary Vocational Education) as of August 2002 and SBO (Secondary

Vocational Education) in later stages in the Netherlands Antilles. The new VSBO prepares

students for the SBO. This means that students who have finished the VSBO have not yet learned

a profession and cannot yet enter the labour market.

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With regard to foundation based education a distinction is made between regular and non-

regular education and is divided in three cycli:

First cycle: 4-8 years kindergarten (first and second grade of primary education)

Second cycle: 8-12 years primary education (from third grade up)

Third cycle: 12 > years Preparatory Secondary Vocational Education (VSBO)

SBO is formed from the previous MBO (Secondary Vocational Education) schools and the

government subsidized training institute Feffik. The SBO schools do the vocational training and

Feffik is responsible for the apprenticeship training. Currently Feffik does not fall under the

supervision of the Ministry of Education, though this is going to change soon.

Dutch Dutch English Abbreviation

Funderend Onderwijs FO Primary School

Basisvorming Secondary Education (First two years);

Voorbereidend Secundair Beroepsonderwijs VSBO Preparatory Secondary vocational Education Secundair Beroepsonderwijs SBO Secondary Vocational Education

Hoger Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs HAVO Higher General Preparatory Education

Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs VWO Preparatory Scientific Education

Hoger Beroepsonderwijs HBO Higher Vocational Training

Universiteit WO University

The education programs in SBO are offered in two ways, either: (1) ‘traditional learning’ (in

Dutch: ‘lerend werken’) and (2) apprenticeship training (in Dutch: ‘werkend leren’). The size of

the work placement component determines the nature of the road of education. In the

apprenticeship training program sixty to eighty percent of the study period consists of work

placement. In ‘traditional learning’ the work placement contains a minimum of fifteen percent

and a maximum of forty percent of the study period. These education programs are aimed at

acquiring qualifications that are needed to professionally exercise a certain vocation or a category

of vocations. The level of the vocational practice is divided in four categories15:

1) Assistant level (level 1): simple, often routine, semi-skilled labour that acquires knowledge

and skills regarding the position. Duration: 1 year.

2) The level of the basic vocational practitioner (level 2): skilled labour that acquires vocational

knowledge and skills in the often applied automatized routines and standard procedures and

takes place in close cooperation with colleagues. Duration 2 years.

3) The level of the specialized practitioner (level 3): concerns the application of combined

standard procedures. The practitioner is completely and mainly responsible for his/ her own

15 Source: Ontwerp-Landsverordening Secundair Beroepsonderwijs, 2002; Memorie van Toelichting, 2002

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tasks and only for a part for that of others. The supposed knowledge and skills are primary

vocational tied and partly vocation dependent. Duration: 4 years.

4) The level of the middle management practitioner or the specialist / professional (level 4):

labour, in which the practitioner is partly responsible for others and the whole work process.

The supposed knowledge and skills are either vocation dependent or specialistic in nature.

Duration: four years. The specialist level following on the specialized practitioner level for

the benefit of qualifying on level four takes one or two years.

The main defect in the system is the connection between Preparatory Secondary Vocational

Education (VSBO) and Secondary Vocational Education (SBO). The number of SBO courses on

the Windward Islands and Bonaire is scarce and on Curaçao they are insufficiently differentiated.

In other words, passing through from VSBO with a chosen set of course options to a SBO that

has that same kind of course options, often is not possible, with all consequences (IMD

Consultancy, 2003, Bloem, 2005; interview with two inspectors Ministry of Education and

Culture, 2006). IMD Consultancy (2003) recommends strongly to expand the supply of SBO

education programs on all fronts with a view to structurally improve the tune to the labour

market.

Recently a feasibility study was conducted on the Windward Islands to measure the extent to

which implementing SBO education is possible and how to do this (IMD Consultancy, 2005). On

a yearly basis 230 students complete their VSBO. It turns out to be very difficult to estimate the

number of students that flow from VSBO to SBO. Education institutions indicate that

implementing a SBO institute is needed. Results show that particularly the hospitality sector is in

need of personnel on all levels. Also a large demand for security agents, construction workers,

technicians and workers for the healthcare industry exist. There is especially a high demand for

SBO level two workers, but also SBO level three and four are frequently demanded. SBO Level

one workers on the other hand are only scarcely demanded for. However, mainly due to the low

quantity of VSBO level students, developing a completely new SBO school would not seem

sensible. From a cost efficient viewpoint the consultants recommend using existing expertise and

infrastructure as much as possible (IMD Consultancy, 2005).

4.2.2.2 VET demand analysis and planning of delivery

Establishing a fit between education and labour market is predominantly an insular and to lesser

degree a national matter. The insular labour markets are characterized by little transparence:

information about supply and demand is limited and not central. Flexibilization of the labour

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markets has led to an easier access of school-leavers (IMD, January 2003; Interviews with

inspectors Ministry of Education and Culture, 2006).

In order to stimulate proper functioning of the labour market, the Ministry of Education has

proposed the establishment of a Council of Education and Labour (Raad voor Onderwijs en

Arbeidsmarkt; ROA). This Council is tripartite in nature, consisting of five representatives of

government, five employers’ representatives and five representatives of the labour unions. The

task of the Council is to advise government on developments on the labour market, the

formulation and recognition of (new) curricula and the promotion of traineeships in the private

sector, in order to synchronize the demand with the availability of labour. Instruments available

to the Council are: the execution of labour market surveys and other monitoring instruments. The

Council receives secretarial support from the secretariat of the SER. (DEZ, 2004).

So far, little has been accomplished concretely by the ROA (source: interviews with several

individuals). The role ROA plays does not seem to be clear to both the field of education and the

business community. In addition, several parties indicated that insular councils instead of a

national ROA are desired (IMD, 2006).

4.2.2.3 TVET decentralization strategy

Not relevant for the Netherlands Antilles

4.2.2.4 Targeting specific labour market groups

The interviewees of the Ministry of Education mentioned that currently no specific labour market

groups are targeted in TVET policy. There is a strong need for research to measure the demands

of the labour market. In certain sectors a large amount of immigrants are employed (for example:

in construction). More local workers with a relevant education are necessary.

4.2.2.5 Other objectives and priorities

Several collaboration agreements exist between vocational education institutions in the

Netherlands Antilles and institutions abroad.

In general courses in vocational education schools are given in Dutch. Some schools prefer to

teach in the local language Papiamento, however there is an enormous lack of teaching material

in Papiamento. At all schools English and Dutch are obligatory courses. Courses in English also

exist, for example IT courses.

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According to the interviewees of the Ministry of Education hardly any language policy has been

executed in the Netherlands Antilles.

4.2.3 Current funding arrangements

Funding (subsidy) of regular education (VSBO and SBO included) is completely arranged by the

insular governments. Higher vocational education too is subsidized by the insular government

but also partly paid by the students themselves. Non regular education is (partially) paid by the

students themselves, companies or other funds (source: interviews Ministry of Education).

4.2.3.1 Advantages and disadvantages of the current funding mechanism

A major advantage of the current funding mechanism is that the Netherlands Antilles receive

funding from the Netherlands at the start of certain innovation program. These innovation

projects can take between one and five years. This mechanism forces the Netherlands Antilles to

plan ahead thoroughly and take the necessary actions to prevent running short in financial means

after a while. At the end the program is evaluated and then new possibilities arise for funding for

innovation programs. In this way innovation programs succeed each other.

The Bureau of Education Innovation (‘Bureau Onderwijs Vernieuwing’) regularly receives

The ‘Institutional and Organizational Reinforcement’ (‘Institutionele en Organisatorische

Versterking, IOV) is a sort of bank established in order to offer financial reinforcement to

governmental institutions. The financial funds, coming from the Netherlands, are divided over

institutions, if necessary in several phases. The executing organization USONA investigates the

financial requests and manages the spending.

Since 1999 a system (‘Vergoeding en Verantwoording’ shortened to ‘V&V stelsel’) is

implemented in which the board of governors get a certain amount of money which has to be

accounted for afterwards. The island government inspects if the funds have been used correctly.

If not, the institution will be cut back the following year.

FIDE is a foundation established with the aim to provide support and information to schools and

parents with regard to the renewal process. One of FIDE’s activities is for example, obtaining

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advice from secondary schools in the Netherlands about approach and curriculum. All school

boards can appeal to FIDE.

SAE is a policy and supervising authority part of the island government. SEA controls and

provides money on an island level.

4.2.3.2 Indicators –including cost indicators- used in designing and evaluating TVET funding strategies

More and more the system is moving to a quality system in which all students can develop

themselves. The inspectorate performs quality control and supervision. Schools report to the

Ministry of Education and results are made public. Institutions can be asked to present certain

documents when necessary (interviewees Ministry of Education).

The SOAB (Stichting Overheids Accountantsbureau) is an accounting bureau which examines if

funds received are spent justly.

4.3 Quality assurance strategies

4.3.1 Assuring National Vocational Qualifications16 (NVQs)

National vocational qualifications are assured by a sort of hallmark for vocational education.

Everything is accredited due to the inspectorates supervision. In accordance with the law every

school is obliged to let inspect the school once a year. Registration forms with data about the

number of teachers, qualifications of the teachers, number of students, number of dropouts,

absenteeism, etc, are checked monthly.

A total of thirteen inspectors operate within the Netherlands Antilles. Two on the Windward

islands, one on Bonaire and ten on Curaçao.

Also the fact that the school exams are independent of the schools and centrally made contributes

to a NVQ assurance.

16 In completing this section of the report, writers should be mindful that in this era education makes one trainable and training makes one employable, the issue of employability in the context of ever increasing sophisticated job competency requirements, demands a very strong and direct connection between the education system and TVET (including lifelong learning initiatives and career guidance facilities)

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4.3.1.1 Describe and review current national system of assuring VET quality

The inspectorate has quite an influential position and also has supervision on exams of non-

subsidized institutions. Educational institutes desire this supervision themselves, for it provides

them a symbolical hallmark. At present an official quality mark does not exist, but it is being

worked on.

4.3.2 The Ministry of Education

4.3.2.1 Short history

In 1816 the first school regulation in the Netherlands Antilles was developed, existing of eight

articles. From this point on primary education was officially regulated by government. The

Ordinance of Education, implemented in 1873 made an end on improvisation and on site

provisions. This Ordinance was replaced first in 1884 and a second time in 1907, which resulted

in more clarity especially with concern to colonial subsidiaries. The school board of governors

could act on their own discretion as long as it was in compliance with the conditions of the

Ordinance of Education which the education derives its soundness from. After several

adjustments on the Ordinance of Education of 1907, a new Ordinance was enacted in 1935 (P.B.

1935), which regulates the education system in nine chapters. This Ordinance is actually still

valid and since 1938 the Education Inspection was by Government Order considered an

independent service. During this same time period also the first modern institute for secondary

education was established, named the ‘Algemene Middelbare School’ (A.M.S; in English:

General Secondary School)

(Rooy, 1995 ; www.minoc.an).

4.3.2.2 Role and objectives

The Minister of Education is responsible for education in the Netherlands Antilles and is assisted

in his task by the Department of education which is in responsible for the daily operation. The

Ministry’s objective is to secure all children of the Netherlands Antilles to have access to

education in a fair and efficient way and to good quality education so that all residents have equal

opportunities to fully develop themselves and to take part in economical and general societal

development. To achieve this objective the ministry develops frameworks needed with respect to

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education but also to bring about the possibility for an optimal start, growth and development of

youth and youngsters (www.minoc.an).

Main activities of the Department are: supervising the field of education; conducting research;

giving advise to improve and renew education; design legislation; monitor and supervise exams;

giving advice with regard to choice of study and vocation and the assignment of grants or

scholarships (Interview with inspectors Ministry of Education;).

4.3.2.3 Functioning within the institutional framework

Minister of Education and

Culture

Directorate of Education, Sport

and Culture

Directorate of Youth and Youth

Development

Process Management and

Innovation Bureau for Exams

Inspectorate of Education

Bureau for Support Services

Source: www.minoc.an

4.3.2.4 Availability of professional expertise and the institutional sustainability of the Ministry of Education

The interviewees indicated that sufficient professional expertise within the Ministry of Education

is available and also a strong sustainability exists.

4.3.2.5 The need for reform of the Ministry of Education

There is no need for reforming the Ministry of Education. The current structure dates back to

2002 only.

4.3.2.6 Indicate technical assistance and other support needed to implement current strategies including the harmonisation of NVQs and CVQs

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This question can not be applied to the Netherlands Antilles. CVQ’s are not implemented in the

Netherlands Antilles.

4.4 The Caribbean single market and CARICOM Vocational Qualifications17 (CVQS)

4.4.1 Comment on differences between NVQs and CVQs


4.4.2 Reform the quality assurance system, adopted reforms and implementation


4.4.3 Harmonising national quality assurance practices at the CARICOM level


4.5 Reforming the TVET system in the Netherlands Antilles

4.5.1 Main factors driving the need for change of the TVET system

The main factors that drive the need for change with respect to technical and vocational

education and training are demand and other signals from the labour market.

The capacity of the different types of education is determined by the labour market demand side.

As a consequence of Curaçao being a rather small island (130.000 inhabitants), the labour market

is inelastic. This means a fine tuning of demand and supply is important. The labour market

buffer zone is small and miscalculations will therefore quickly promote emigration of those who

cannot find a job or immigration of people with desired skills.

17 CARICOM has established and institutionalised a framework for work/labour force competency certification (NVQs and soon CVQs). This frame work is based on approved occupational standards of Competence for over 120 occupations from entry level 1 to profession level 5. The CVQ certification is intended to facilitate the movement of skilled certified workers within the CSME as well as enhance the quality profile and investment attractiveness of the work/labour force of the CARICOM member states.

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Furthermore it can be stated that changes regarding working conditions (e.g. required skills,

modernization) are followed by adjustments in the TVET system.

4.5.2 Reforms needed to better address the needs for skills training and enhanced

employability

A recent institutional reform is the establishment of the ROA. ROA stands for council for

education and labour market. It is initiated by the government to promote ongoing research to

come to a better insight in labour market demand and educational supply. Furthermore, the

council will function as an advisory body in the translation from policy to legislation.

ROA is therefore dedicated to better address the needs for skills training and enhanced

employability.

However, since her establishment ROA has been handicapped by setbacks of different nature.

It’s focus should currently be on obtaining the right equipment for the job. Next, attention should

be paid to increasing the familiarity of allied institutions with the ROA.

4.5.3 Adopted (actual) education and training reform policies and implementation

4.5.3.1 New legislation and reforms of the regulatory system In 2002 a new educational system has come into place. The system features three main

components:

1. foundation based education (ages 4-16)

2. secondary vocational education first stage (age 16 – up)

3. secondary vocational education second stage (age 17 – up)

Although this system was introduced in 2002, officially it has not yet been approved by the

government.

This is a problem for students, since they do not receive an officially recognized diploma when

they finish their school (or education).

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4.5.3.2 New ways to provide access to job training and certification

I Educationally disadvantaged, uncertified drop-outs and marginalized youths.

The unemployment rate amongst youngsters is strikingly high and also the crime rate in the

Netherlands Antilles is high. It seems that the temptation from activities in the illegal sector and

thus obtaining a much higher income than when working a low paid entry level job in the formal

sector is difficult to resist for many.

The government acknowledges the need for intensive training to improve employability of drop

outs. Those that are not matriculated nor have paid work and who are also not fulfilling

compulsory military service are granted a second opportunity. They are forced by law to

participate in a program aimed at developing their intellectual capacity, mentality and practical

knowledge at a minimum level.

In other words, this so called Federal Ordinance Compulsory Social Education aims at cramming

the youngsters to participate normally in society and the labour process and consequently

preventing their exclusion. The compulsory social education will be enforced in January 2006.

Currently, a job plan is being developed to secure jobs for those who graduate from the Social

Formation program.

When graduating from the program, the students receive a level 1 start qualification. Once this

qualification is obtained, the student is exempted from participation in the program. Much

attention is currently being paid to guide level 1 graduates into further training in the regular

system; thus enhancing their chances on the labour market.

II Students about to graduate from the secondary school system

Since regular vocational education was completely reformed 4 years ago, no plans exist currently

to reform it. As mentioned before, it is very important to diversify the supply of disciplines in the

second stage.

III Existing members of the labour force (employed and unemployed

There are several initiatives that provide access to job training. The business community in

cooperation with local training institutes provides courses specifically targeted at training on the

job.

153

Next, people that receive social security benefits can participate in short practical courses.

Subjects of these courses are for example sewing and nursing. These courses are organized by

the government community centers (Ban Bario Bèk).

Finally, there is a diverse supply of private education. Local training bureaus offer for example

management courses and safety courses. Furthermore there are a great number of computer

courses available. These range from entry generic level to sophisticated and specific.

The certificate that can be obtained is in conformation with the level of the course. The Ban

Barios Bèk’s may hand out a simple unofficial diploma for participation, while some IT

certificates are according to Microsoft standards.

4.5.3.3 Reform of secondary education The reform of the secondary education is currently in full swing. First, the VSBO has recently

been introduced. Second, the HAVO/VWO education is currently being transformed into a more

high school like, pre university education.

4.5.3.4 Tertiary education and skills training With respect to HBO (Higher Vocational Education) and university education, a process of

accreditation is ongoing. Furthermore, international networks are further developed. Ultimately,

graduates should receive two diplomas; a Dutch diploma and a diploma from the country where

the international component took place. Vice versa, foreign students should also receive a Dutch

diploma if (part of) the study was followed in the Netherlands Antilles.

4.5.3.5 Current policies and programs that address the needs for skills training in the informal economy

No programs are currently available to address the needs for skills training in the informal sector.

Also, there is no policy in that direction.

4.6 Impact evaluation and sustainability of the TVET system

4.6.1 Ministry of Education and impact evaluation

This topic is elaborated upon in section 4.6.4.

4.6.2 Assessing training needs; institutions, sources and methods

One of the major building blocks of the Netherlands Antilles economy in terms of employment is

the hospitality sector. The prospects for this sector are good, a substantial growth is expected in

154

the coming years. Already there are a great number of vacancies to be filled in this industry. This

number is expected to increase significantly in the next five years.

Taking into account the expected growth, the development of sufficient training capacity is

lagging. A bottleneck is the availability of teachers. The short term solution is often found in

hiring people from abroad. However, on the long termer, local training capacity should

contribute to lowering the currently high unemployment figures.

Initiatives are being developed. Graduates from the compulsory social education program are

guided into apprenticeships in the hospitality sector. These apprenticeships are placed in jobs by

a training foundation that specifically represents the hospitality industry. This training foundation

is a very welcome addition to the training environment. It focuses on the filling of hospitality

vacancies with local people.

In the technical education sector it is also believed that a shortage of teachers will arise within 5

years. Aging will cause many teachers to retire. Currently it is difficult to fill the open positions.

In both cases, it was argued that an alternative teacher education should be established. It should

become easier for experts in the field, lacking the extensive theoretical knowledge, to obtain a

teaching certificate. This way less potential teachers are putt off.

4.6.3 TVET annual output specifications

The most recent figures on output from technical and vocational education and training date from

2001:

Vocational Education Leaving Certificates on Curaçao (full-time education) 2000-200118.

Junior Sec. Vocational Education (BVO,LTO) 594

Senior Sec. Vocational Education (MBO,MAO,KABO,MTS,IFE) 274

Graduates in 200119:

Higher technical education (HBO) 17

18 Source: http://www.central-bureau-of-statistics.an/education/education_f3.asp. 19 Source: http://www.una.an/en/overuna/feiten.asp.

155

4.6.4 Impact assessment

Two main types of institutions offer technical and vocational education and training. These are

the public and the private institutions. Their interaction is a good measure for the effectiveness of

technical and vocational education and training impact.

For example, when “the market” experiences a shortage of IT skilled people, the private sector

will start offering these courses. The number of people that take part in these courses is a

reflection of the “need”. If offering extra courses is necessary, it signals that the impact of the

public education system has not been sufficient. This applies both in terms of quantity and

quality.

As will be detailed in the next paragraph, the hospitality sector is in great need of employees.

Therefore, recently a training institute has been established. This is a clear signal that the impact

of the public hospitality training and education has not been sufficient.

The same applies to the construction sector. Albeit the industry is not yet able to initialize a

similar training foundation, due to financial restrictions. Especially this sector seems to be victim

of the small number of institutions that offer the right training programs. In the case of the

construction sector, the co-operation with vocational training institute Feffik has been very stiff

over the past years. The sector felt that the lack of competitors has not forced Feffik to produce

the output according to desired standards. It can also be concluded here that the impact of the

training institute in the field of construction has not been sufficient.

TVET institutions have a primary function to increase human capital. This means increasing

specific job skills, but also teaching knowledge to people how to maintain oneself in a future job

situation or in general in society. The impact of the TVET institutions on society is therefore

profound. This not only applies to TVET institutions, but to educational institutions in general.

The greatest and most important signal that the technical and vocational educational and training

institutions do not have enough impact is the need to introduce compulsory social education (see

also 5.3.2.1). A great number of the youngsters eligible for the social formation are drop-out

students from the TVET institutions. It is not said that the need for this ordinance is the fault of

the TVET institutions. It has however, as being part of the system, contributed to the current

situation.

156

4.7 TVET institutions and sectoral (employment) policies

4.7.1 Restructuring of agriculture and the response of the TVET systems

Agriculture represents only a small segment of the labour market. 2005 figures show that the

number of people working in the agricultural sector (including mining and fishing) amounts

40420. This is less than 1% of the total working population.

Restructuring of agriculture is therefore not a big issue in the Netherlands Antilles. One

interesting development can however be mentioned. That is the introduction of a new eco-study

at SBP level. In this discipline students are educated in the field of landscaping, which is

probably the largest part of the primary sector nowadays.

4.7.2 TVET and the response to growing/changing demand for skills in tourism,

international business and financial services

An important gauge to measure developments in the fields of tourism, international business and

financial services is the development of the business school faculty in the past five years. This

faculty is part of the local university and offers of the following courses:

• Accounting

• Business Administration

• International Hospitality & Tourism

The total number of students at the business school has more than doubled from 299 in

1999/2000 to 647 in 2004/200521, as seen below.

20 Source: http://www.central-bureau-of-statistics.an/labour/labour_h1.asp. 21 Source: http://www.una.an/en/overuna/feiten.asp.

157

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

S.B

19

99

/20

00

20

00

/20

01

20

01

/20

02

20

02

/20

03

20

03

/20

04

20

04

/20

05

As a result of this sharp increase in the total number of students at this faculty the local supply of

higher educated students in the fields mentioned will rise in the coming years. A characteristic of

the local job market is that there is a constant need for financially educated people. If they are not

available locally, they will have to be recruited abroad. To fight unemployment and support the

local economy it is important to have the vacancies filled with local people. Therefore, the local

development of the financial professional group is very welcome.

Tourism

Currently there is a shortage of properly trained local people in the tourism sector. The shortage

is replenished by people from abroad. There is general consensus that this solution should not

take the form of a permanent solution.

At higher vocational education level, recently a Bachelor of Science Program in Hospitality &

Tourism Management has been added (see previous paragraph). Contrary to the sectors of

international business and financial services, the tourism sector is greatly in need of people with

lower level of education. However, there has not been an initiative to increase the education

capacity at these levels.

As a reaction to this situation, the Curaçao Hospitality and Trade organization (CHATA) has set

up a training foundation (CTF) with the financial support of a development fund. In this

apprenticeship program, local youngsters between 16 and 24 are going back to the school for one

or two days a week to receive a tourist education, while working in the hospitality sector on the

remaining days.

158

5. Foreign Direct Investment

Concepcion, L. (2006)

5.1 Introduction

Foreign direct investment for the purpose of this study was defined as investments from non

residents that give them control over local enterprises. The English questionnaire which the ILO

designed for this purpose for the Caribbean was used without adaptation or translation. It turned

out that the topic was rather difficult to answer for many of the responding organizations. The

questionnaire was send to all known employers’ and workers’ organizations in the country, but

only a minority was returned. The survey consisted of 11 questions and concentrates on

knowledge of the rights to collective bargaining and differences between local and foreign

investors in the field of industrial relations.

5.2 Overview of response

The questionnaire for the employer’s organization as well as for the trade unions was send by

airmail. The table below gives a view of the amount sent to the different islands and the amount

received.

Bonaire Curaçao St. Maarten Total

send response send response send response Send response

Employers’ organization 5 0 36 6 4 0 45 6

Trade Union 5 0 26 3 11 2 42 5

Total 10 0 62 9 15 2 87 11

Despite two rounds of calls to remind the organizations in the sample to fill out and send back

the questionnaire, the total response was only 12.6%. This is a lot lower than expected. One of

the reasons for this high non-response could be the rather difficult level of English used in the

questionnaires. Another reason could be the extent to which the questionnaire was perceived

relevant by the organization in question. Also the perceived difficulty of the questions could have

played a role. Visits by interviewers were not performed because of the short time-frame for this

project and the lack of manpower.

159

One organization replied telling that the organization is not an employers’ organization but an

association for promotion of Captive Insurance activities in Curaçao.

5.3 Results

The majority of the questions were both asked to the employers’ organization as well as to the

employees’ organization; some of the questions differed from each other. The results are as

follows.

1. Is the “Right” to collective bargaining expressly granted by the Constitution?

Yes No

Employers’ organization 4 1

Trade Union 5 0

Total 9 1

Note: One employers’ organization did not answer this question.

Almost all respondents indicated that the right to collective bargaining is expressly granted by

the Constitution. Fact is however, that this right is not expressly granted by the constitution. The

Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands states in article 19 paragraph 2 that the law has

to dictate regulations with regard to legal positions for those who accomplish labour and their

protection, as well as their participation. The constitution for the Netherlands Antilles is laid

down in the ‘Staatsregeling van de Nederlandse Antillen’. Article 8 paragraph 2 states: “the

responsibility of authors, publishers, printers and distributors and the guarantee, for the sake of

public morals against abuse of freedom of printing press are regulated by Ordinance”. This

article does not specifically state that people have the right to freedom of speech. Article 10

states that the practice of the right of association and assembly is possible for the sake of public

morals or health. Although it is submit to regulation and restriction of a National Ordinance.

2. Is Collective bargaining promoted by Government’s (public) policy?

Yes No


Trade Union 4 1

Total 8 2

Note: one employers’ organization did not answer this question.

160

Almost all respondents seem to be aware of the promotion of collective bargaining by the

government. Collective bargaining is promoted by the government through different laws.

The Ordinance Labour Disputes 1946. In this ordinance the position of the mediator is

regulated. The mediator:

- can mediate in case of a collective labour dispute. If the labour dispute becomes a

judicial dispute the mediator has to withhold his support from the mediation.

- is also responsible for the organization of a referendum, in order to establish whether a

union has the support of the majority of the workers in question.

- can assist parties during negotiations for a collective labour agreement.

The Ordinance Recognition of Trade Unions. This ordinance is classified under the

Ordinance Labour Disputes 1946 in articles 14a and 14b. The mediator can hold a referendum

on request of the trade union or the employer. However the mediator is not obliged to hold the

referendum. The trade union has to be an association. Their statute has to prescribe that the

trade union can construct or negotiate about collective labour agreements. The trade union has

to obtain the majority of votes of the workers entitled to vote (at least half plus one of the

ones entitled to vote). Not only members of the union but all employees are allowed to

participate in the referendum. The trade union can represent one or more categories of

employees in one business. After the trade union has won the referendum the employer is

obliged to recognize the trade union as representative of his employees and negotiate

collective labour agreement.

The Collective Labour Agreement Ordinance. The collective labour agreement is

employment agreement between the trade union and the employer in which agreed upon

labour conditions are stated. An employer and a trade union can negotiate a collective labour

agreement. The trade union has to possess corporate personality and in its statute must be

stated that it is allowed to negotiate collective labour agreement. The collective labour

agreement has to be laid down in writing. Members are tied to the collective labour

agreement. The collective labour agreement is of higher rank than the individual working

agreement. The collective labour agreement can not be concluded for more than five years,

prolongations included. The collective labour agreement can be automatically renewed for

one year.

161

3. Are all national labour standards embodied in the current labour legislation also

applicable to the enterprises operating under the foreign direct investment regime of your

country?

Yes No


Trade Union 5 0

Total 11 0

In correspondence to respondents’ answers, all current labour legislation is applicable to local

enterprises as well as enterprises operating under the foreign direct investment. There are slight

differences between the islands: with regard to the level of the minimum wages or the Ordinance

hiring out of temporary workers (only applicable for Curaçao).

4. Are all government policies with respect to promoting collective bargaining also applied to

the enterprises operating under the foreign direct investment regime of your country?

Yes No


Trade Union 4 1

Total 8 1

Note: Two employers’ organization did not answer this question.

The three ordinances mentioned in the second question are in place for all types of enterprises.

However the employers are not obliged to collective bargaining.

5. Are enterprises operated by foreign direct investors participating in

Employers’ organization

Your national employers organization 3

Special employers’ organization exclusively for or dominated by foreign direct 0

investors

The chamber of commerce 4

Other employers organizations 4

Note: this question was asked only to the employers’ organization):

162

163

6. Has your organization been actively involved in organizing workers in one or more

enterprises operated by foreign direct investors?

Yes No

Trade Union 3 2

Note: This question was asked only to trade unions:

7. Is the participation of enterprises operated by foreign direct investors in the main activities

of your organization different than that of the local investors/businesses?

Yes No


Note: This question was asked only to the employers’ organization.

8. Is your organization recognized as the partner for collective bargaining in one or more

enterprises operated by foreign direct investors? Yes No

Trade Union 4 1


9. Are the challenges your organization faces in your trade union work different in

enterprises operated by foreign direct investors from those in local investors/businesses

Yes No

Trade Union 2 3


10. Are you aware of special programs /projects of foreign direct investors that aim at

increasing (the use of local labour; trade union) or intensifying linkages of their

enterprises with the local businesses?

Yes No


Trade Union 2 3

Total 2 9

Despite the high literacy rate and the availability of institutions for higher education and

language training, a majority of firms on all five islands rated the availability of well-trained

workers low. A study conducted by the Island Government of Curaçao shows that the main

reason for the current structural unemployment is the inadequate supply to meet the demand

(OECD, 2005). The Department of Employment and Income helps by providing training to these

164

unemployed. Some projects and courses implemented by this department so far are motivational

courses, general courses, alphabetization, budget course and alpha help.

11. Please list the three most important contributions –in order of importance- that foreign

investors make to your country?

Employers’ organization Trade Union

Investment Employment

Employment (labour opportunities) Help promote the island as a good investor’s

climate. International reputation

Awareness of possibilities of business on Curaçao

for foreign companies. Influx of foreign currency

Economic growth. A contribution to prosperity.

Contribution to a larger base of taxes.

Knowledge and expertise/ experience

Taxes

Foreign investment has played a vital role in the development of the Netherlands Antilles.

Especially the oil refinery, trans-shipment, financial services and tourism served as the driving

force of the Antillean economy (OECD, 2005).

In the report Caribbean Rim Investment Initiative (CRII) promoted by OECD (2005) the role of

foreign direct investment has been summarized as follows:

1. Job creation

2. Some business development opportunities linked to the investment

3. Development of efficient infrastructural services

12. Are the employment practices (hiring, firing, types of contracts, use of outsourcing, etc.) of

enterprises operated by foreign direct investors different than that of local

investors/businesses?

Yes No


Trade Union 2 3

Total 2 9

Two trade unions are of the opinion that the employment practices are different, however only

one gave a comment. The comment was that foreign investors prefer foreign workers where they

can pay them very low wages and most of the time exploits the foreign workers to the fullest.

165

13. Are the labour or industrial relations practices of enterprises operated by foreign direct

investors different than that of local investors/businesses?

Yes No


Trade Union 2 3

Total 2 9

Two trade unions are of the opinion that the labour or industrial practices are different, however

only one gave a comment. The comment was that foreign investors do not agree with the labour

laws.

14. Please list the three most frequent employment and labour practices that foreign investors

have attempted to change in your country and what has been the response of your

organization.

Employers’ organization Trade Union

More labour hours (for special projects) More flexible labour market

Lower wages The practices/system of hiring and firing (dismissal law)

Exemption of taxes The use of foreign (illegal) workers.

Rules with respect to hiring employees. The prior

approval of the Director of Labour Affairs before giving

notice to an employment agreement.

Pressure on minimum wages

(Re) introduction competitive clause

A number of studies on the Antillean economy have been conducted by international

organizations (among others the IMF) in recent years (OECD, 2005). Their conclusions are

largely consistent:

Elimination of prior approval to dismiss employees

Introduction of synchronized minimum wages across islands

Establishment of a Labour Court

In order to address this problem, the ’Ordinance Flexibilization of the Labour Legislation’ was

introduced on August 1, 2000. This legislation was promulgated under strong resistance from

labour unions and other groups. As a result, the actual abolition of the dismissal law was

introduced only on the island of Curaçao. Besides in 2005 the judicial order in labour disputes

was introduced. This order facilitates the access to the court in labour cases and reduces costs

considerably. The dismissal law was reintroduced in 2003, without the consensus of the social

partners.

166

With the exception of St. Eustatius, a majority of investors opine that the costs of labour are high.

Compared with other developing countries the rate of the minimum wage is considered high. In

addition to wages, employers need to pay for different benefits like Old age pension, Widow's,

Widower's and Orphan's Pension, Sickness Insurance, Accident Insurance, Disability Insurance.

5.4 Conclusions

Knowledge in the field of collective bargaining is rather good among organizations responding to

the survey, although a small minority is not aware of current policy (and legislation). All

participants are aware that no differences exist between local and foreign investors in relation to

labour legislation. Foreign investors participate in employers’ organizations without much

difference with local investors. A minority of the unions is of the opinion that employment

practices and industrial relations of foreign investors differ from local investors. None of the

participating employers’ organizations recognizes this difference.

Foreign investors contribute to employment, investment, foreign exchange, expertise, economic

growth and a wider tax base. The respondents mention a more flexible labour market, withdrawal

of the dismissal law, lower wages, longer working hours and exemption of taxes as practices

foreign investors try to change. In this sense they do not seem to differ much from local

investors.

Literature

Bloem, A.F.M. (Januari 2005) Perspectieven in het beroepsonderwijs schooljaar 2004/2005;

Inspectierapport p. 10. Curaçao.

Bodde, G.A.B. (2003). Het vreemdelingenproces in de Nederlandse Antillen. Netherlands

Antilles.

Burgerlijk Wetboek van de Nederlandse Antillen (Civil Code of The Netherlands Antilles). Boek

7A titel 7A Burgerlijk Wetboek (2005). Van de overeenkomsten tot het verrichten van

Arbeid.

Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). CBS Labour force sample survey 2001. Netherlands Antilles



Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). CBS Labour force sample survey 2005 Sint Maarten.


Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). (2001). Fourth Population and Housing Census Netherlands

Antilles. Netherlands Antilles.

Constancia, J.V.A. (2003) Memorandum moratorium t.a.v. aanvragen

tewerkstellingsvergunningen t.b.v. ongeschoolde en laaggeschoolde vreemdelingen

Constancia, J.V.A. (2003) Memorandum voorstel akkoord te gaan met de sectoren en bedrijven

die in aanmerking komen voor de versnelde procedure i.v.m. aanvragen voor

tewerkstellingsvergunningen t.b.v. vreemdelingen

Department of Welfare and Income (2006) Migranten hulpvraag bij DWI

Directorate of Labour (2006). Folders labour legislation. http://www.diraz.an/

IMD Consultancy (Augustus 2005). Haalbaarheidsonderzoek SBO Bovenwindse eilanden.

Eindrapportage. Samengesteld voor het Ministerie van Onderwijs en Cultuur.

Nederlandse Antillen.

IMD Consultancy (Januari 2003). Afstemmingsproblematiek beroepsonderwijs – arbeidsmarkt.

168

International Organization for Migration (2005) Verkennend beoordeling van mensenhandel in

het Caribisch gebied

Island registry (2005) Bevolking Curaçao naar nationaliteit in 2000 en 2005

Hussman, R. (2006). Defining and measuring informal employment

Island Department of Economic Affairs (DEZ) Curaçao (2004). Multi-Year Economic Program

(MEP) Curaçao, Part II Subprograms 2004.

Memorie van Toelichting behorende bij de ontwerp landsverordening SBO en educatie No. 3.

Staten van de Nederlandse Antillen zitting 2002 – 2003.

Minister van Justitie (2006) Herziene instructie aan de gezaghebbers inzake de toepassing van de

Landsverordening Toelating en Uitzetting

Nisbet, J., Tielen, L., Van der Biezen, C. (2006). Impactstudie Vreemdelingenproblematiek.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), OECD Investment `Policy

Reviews, Caribbean RIM Netherlands Antilles, 2005

Polkamp, G.E.M. (1997). Het Nederlands-Antilliaans Arbeidsovereenkomstenrecht in de

praktijk. Curaçao.

Rooy, P. De (1995). Geschiedenis van het Ministerie van Onderwijs en Cultuur. Nederlandse

Antillen.

USONA. Voortgangsverslag USONA juli – december 2005

Website Onderwijs en Cultuur http://www.minoc.an/Ministerie_HomePage.htm

http://www.minoc.an/Geschiedenis%20MinOC.htm

Website Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) http://cbs.an/population/population_tables.asp

http://cbs.an/labour/labour_tables.asp

Enclosure 1: Employment by economic position (CBS)

Curaçao Economical position - Curaçao 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Total 47,686 49,056 52,137 51,474 51,343

Employer 1,524 1,600 1,591 1,703 1,529

Self employed 2,845 3,246 3,569 3,601 4,137

Employee in permanent service 32,261 31,617 33,053 32,899 33,275

Employee in temporary service 3,850 4,105 3,417 3,271 3,211

Casual worker or "job taker" 3,552 5,724 6,853 6,900 5,852

Unpaid family worker 178 169 292 253 246

Contract of less than six months 324 273 319 190 487

Contract of six months or longer 1,871 1,719 2,401 2,321 2,132

Other 734 535 249 177 200

Unknown 547 68 373 138 168

Undefined - 19 20 106

Bonaire Economical position - Bonaire 2001 2002 2004

Total 4865 4334 4661

Employer 143 511 524

Self employed 358 2385 2758

Employee in permanent service 3229 468 238

Employee in temporary service 416 383 499

Casual worker or "job taker" 237 - -

Unpaid family worker 24 - -

Contract of less than six months 45 - -

Contract of six months or longer 299 - -

Other 72 498 558

NR / Unknown 42 89 84

NA 0 - -

Undefined 0 - -

170

St.Maarten Economical position – St. Maarten 2001 2003

Total 15495 16200

Employer 1987 2227

Self employed 10038 10404

Employee in permanent service 1659 1534

Contract 1018 1061

Other 793 974

Economical position – St. Maarten 2001 2003 2005

Total 15495 16200 18073

Employer 1987 2227 221

Self employed 10038 10404 2043

Employee in permanent service 1659 1534 12226

Employee in temporary service 1390

Casual worker or "job taker" 579

Unpaid family worker 55

Contract of less than six months 1018 1061 117

Contract of six months or longer 1226

Other 793 974 64

NR / Unknown 126

NA 28

Undefined 0

171

Enclosure 2: Employment per industry (CBS, 2001)

In tables below employees are defined as people that are on the payroll. Workers on the other

hand are defined as people that are not on the payroll. These could be for example self employed

or family workers.

About the fishing industry not sufficient accurate information is available, except for Saba.


Industry Companies Employment Agriculture and farming of animals 86 348 Fishing . 0 Mining 2 125 Manufacturing 374 4254 Electricity, gas and water supply 12 1127 Construction 650 3931 Wholesale and retail trade 2422 14905 Hotels and restaurants 1142 7852 Transport, storage and communication 413 4799 Financial intermediation 494 5492 Real estate, renting and business activities 1519 9869 Education 72 978 Health and social work 510 5519 Other community, social and personal service activities 783 4981

Total 8486 64202

Bonaire

Industry Companies Employment Agriculture and farming of animals 2 4 Fishing . .

Mining 1 57 Manufacturing 22 102 Electricity, gas and water supply 1 76 Construction 28 322 Wholesale and retail trade 149 668 Hotels and restaurants 92 807 Transport, storage and communication 17 287 Financial intermediation 22 161 Real estate, renting and business activities 86 329 Education 2 18 Health and social work 19 342

Other community, social and personal service activities 55 354

Total 496 3527

172

Curaçao Industry Companies Employment Agriculture and farming of animals 78 303

Fishing . .

Mining 1 68

Manufacturing 302 3797

Electricity, gas and water supply 5 802

Construction 562 3277

Wholesale and retail trade 1739 10738

Hotels and restaurants 779 4792

Transport, storage and communication 309 3140

Financial intermediation 429 4891

Real estate, renting and business activities 1221 7524

Education 58 771

Health and social work 433 4619


Total 6483 48366

Sint Maarten Industry Companies Employment Agriculture and farming of animals 1 26

Fishing . .

Mining 0 0

Manufacturing 42 332


Construction 31 247






Education 7 95



Total 1220 11178

173

Sint Eustatius Industry Companies Employment Agriculture and farming of animals 2 8

Fishing . .

Mining 0 0

Manufacturing 4 12


Construction 8 36






Education 3 49



Total 108 611

Saba Industry Companies Employment Agriculture and farming of animals 3 7

Fishing 7 22

Mining 0 0

Manufacturing 4 11


Construction 21 49






Education 2 45



Total 179 7

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