PHILIPSBURG – Four public prosecutors in Sint Maarten have taken legal action against the government over a long-running salary dispute involving mandatory annual adjustments that they say have not been properly implemented.
At the center of the dispute is a Kingdom Decree that has been in effect since the constitutional reforms of October 10, 2010. The decree provides for the salaries of members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to be adjusted annually.
The indexation is mandatory and is calculated based on the average development of civil servants’ salaries in Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands.
The four prosecutors are now asking the court to order the Minister of Justice to implement the outstanding salary adjustments and correct their remuneration retroactively.
The case could have significant financial consequences for the Country of Sint Maarten if the court determines that salary increases should have been applied over several previous years. In that event, the government could face substantial back payments.
The precise financial impact is not yet known. The court still has to determine which years are covered by the dispute and the amounts to which the prosecutors may be entitled.
The proceedings could also have broader implications depending on whether other members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office are affected by the same salary provisions.
For now, the dispute centers on whether the government has fulfilled its obligations under the Kingdom rules governing the remuneration of prosecutors since the constitutional restructuring of the former Netherlands Antilles in 2010.