No need for employer to take care of parking places

June 14, 2010 10:34 AM

The summary proceedings instituted by the civil service union Abvo against the island government was handled today by the Court in First Instance.

Lisanne Asjes, Abvo’s attorney argued that the Island Territory Curaçao (EGC) is in conflict with the equality and good employers’ principle by offering only one group of their employees free parking. The island government is blamed for discriminating treatment. The judge from Bonaire will pass judgment on June 24th.

Asjes’ primary demand on behalf of the civil service union is that the government soon makes a free parking arrangement for the afflicted group of civil servants near their workplace. If this is not feasible, Abvo expects the government to compensate the extra costs. On the question why one must wait two weeks for the judgment, the lawyer states that the judge is from Bonaire. “As this also involved officials employed with the Court of Justice, one has chosen to appoint a judge from the outside. The judge happened to be on the island. The judgment will therefore probably take a while”, says Asjes.
Attorney Michael Bonapart represents the island. The defense explicitly disputes the island acts in conflict with the equality principle and denies all propositions from the union. The government is of the opinion that the principles of good employership are not infringed because no parking compensations are made. Good employership does not enclose the obligation that the employer must arrange for parking places – whether or not in the work surroundings.

The Parking Authority Curaçao (PAC) became operational in the spring and a tariff of 50 cents per 30 minutes is charged for parking on the public parking places and terrains in Punda, and in Otrobanda within short. The civil servants working in Punda were previously allowed to park free of charge near their work. These employees are now confronted with a substantial extra monthly expenditure due to the introduction of paid parking. The civil servants have held actions during the entire past week against the 200 guilders monthly parking costs. The civil servants have to pay for these costs from their own salary and the government does not want to compensate such. According to Abvo-chairperson Wendy Calmes, this situation affects a group of approx. 250 civil servants. The island is of the opinion that this group of employees should park at the public parking place at Waaigat and walk to work from there if they do not want to pay.

‘First come, first serve’
The Abvo finds it is unreasonable to have these civil servants park their vehicle on an unsecured, public parking place. According to the union, in the past vehicles were often damaged and broken into at Waaigaat and that the guilty were subsequently never traced. It will take the employees longer to walk from the Waaigat to their work and would shorten the lunch-break. Furthermore, upon return after lunch-break there is no guarantee of sufficient parking spots on the public parking lot at Waaigat. Parking at this terrain is on a ‘first come, first serve’-basis. In this case, the employee would still have to pay for parking during the day. According to Asjes, the government cannot simply refer to parking lot at the Waaigat, as there is no clarity regarding daily sufficient free of charge parking places. The government should make efforts to come up with a solution. The lawyer indicates that in as far as the EGC persists the public parking lot at Waaigat is an adequate alternative, the employees that currently park free of charge in reserved parking place, should also use this public parking lot at Waaigat. Alternatively, the currently reserved free of charge parking spaces should be open for all employees in service of the EGG, in which the principle of ‘first come, first serve’ also applies for these parking spaces.

Jurisprudence
In her memorandum of oral pleading, attorney Asjes states it standing jurisprudence that the employer treats it employees equally. The employer may not make a distinction on the grounds of amongst others kind of contract and/or work for the employer. The EGC is discriminating by letting a large group of employees park free of charge in Punda near their work and let another group of employees pay for parking. According to Asjes, the island acts in conflict with good employership and the fairness by refusing this group compensation who is now confronted with extra parking costs on a monthly basis. After all, the EGC receives a financial reciprocation for the exploitation contracting and the management of the public parking places in Punda. As a good employer, the government should arrange for free parking in front or in the near surroundings of the employees’ work. If this is not possible through one’s own agency, as a good employer, they should compensate the employee, says Asjes.

10 June 2010

In this case Abvo was represented by Lisanne Asjes of Asjes Carrega Attorneys at Law, while the Island Territory Curaçao was represented by Michael Bonapart of Soliana Bonapart _ Aardenburg Attorneys at Law.