WILLEMSTAD - “It is not a public secret that developments concerning the refinery and Bullenbaai are not progressing as they should. This is hindering the economic and social development of our country, workers, and future workers in this sector,” said Giselle McWilliam of the MAN faction in parliament.
Remarkably, there is an absence and lack of assuming responsibility from the side of Prime Minister Mr. Pisas, under whose authority this sector falls, leaving it at the mercy of RDK (Curaçao Refinery). This lack of vision and direction is clearly much to be lamented, said McWilliam.
The MP says that when we look back in the history of this sector, it has always been the Prime Minister who provided direction and took responsibility for this sector.
When Shell left Curaçao, Prime Minister Mrs. Maria Liberia Peters took on her responsibility, showed leadership, provided direction, and most importantly, brought stakeholders together in this sector and at the political level with a common goal: to ensure the development of our country and workers.
This responsibility, under the governments that followed, was not different; former Prime Ministers Schotte, Asjes, Whiteman, Koeiman, and Rhuggenaath, all assumed their responsibility as Prime Ministers for this sector.
It is regrettable that currently, due to a lack of transparency and coherent vision regarding developments concerning the fate of the refinery and Bullenbaai, Prime Minister Pisas is not taking on his responsibility.
Considering that transparency and a coherent vision are important according to conventions and recommendations from entities like the International Labour Organization (ILO) related to tripartite social dialogue, the Central Trade Union of Curaçao (SSK) is requesting the organization of a summit with all stakeholders in the sector. In this critical moment of determining our direction, we need to come together, unite all interested parties, and engage in discussions to guide the future of this sector.
Along with Prime Minister Mr. Pisas, a common direction for development in this sector for the next 5, 10, and 20 years needs to be set.
“For the MAN faction, dialogue and ensuring the representation of the sector's workers and business representatives are of vital importance to achieve socio-economic well-being for our people.”
For this reason, the MAN faction supports SSK in this petition and urges Prime Minister Mr. Pisas to assume the responsibility of his role and duty to sit down with all stakeholders, create a realistic and coherent vision in this sector, and bring perspectives and development to Curaçao and its working class and their families.
