WILLEMSTAD – Seven former employees of construction company Wescar have won their legal battle against the Social Insurance Bank (SVB), after the Court of First Instance ruled that the agency unlawfully denied their severance compensation.
The ruling centers on the so-called cessantia payment, a severance benefit intended to support workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.
The employees lost their jobs in 2022 after Wescar ran into severe financial difficulties and ceased operations during major construction projects, including work connected to the development of Curaçao’s new hospital infrastructure and other building contracts.
Following their dismissal, the workers applied for severance compensation through SVB, but their requests were rejected.
SVB argued at the time that Wescar had not yet been formally declared bankrupt, and therefore the employees did not qualify under the agency’s interpretation of the law.
The court has now rejected that position.
In its ruling, the court found that the law governing severance payments does not require a company to be officially declared bankrupt before employees can qualify for compensation.
According to the judge, the decisive factor is whether workers lost their jobs involuntarily due to circumstances beyond their control.
The court concluded that the Wescar employees clearly met that condition.
The ruling orders SVB to reconsider the applications and make new decisions while taking the court’s interpretation into account.
The judge also stressed that government agencies must apply the law as written and cannot impose extra requirements that are not explicitly included in legislation.
The decision is being viewed as significant for labor rights on Curaçao, particularly for employees affected by business closures, insolvencies or companies that stop operating without formally completing bankruptcy procedures.
Legal experts say the ruling could set an important precedent for future cases involving severance claims, especially in situations where employers collapse financially but remain in legal limbo.
For the former Wescar employees, the ruling represents a major step toward receiving compensation after nearly four years of uncertainty following the loss of their jobs.
It remains to be seen whether SVB will appeal the ruling or proceed directly with reassessing the claims.