Temporary employees at UTS go to court

March 26, 2012 12:12 PM

WILLEMSTAD - The temporary employees working for telecommunication company UTS want the judge to determine who their employer is, said advisor of the temporary employees, former trade union leader and former politician Errol Cova.

The temporary employees state they’ve been working at UTS for many years and therefore believe they can be considered as having a permanent appointment.Cova explains that the temporary employees have instituted two legal proceedings against UTS. The first regards summary proceedings on April 11th, which according to Cova will focus on the various torments from the UTS-management against the temporary employees. In this respect, the former trade union leader speaks of a form of psychological waging of war. “We want the judge to order UTS to stop this. The personnel are put under pressure. They are told they will be fired and are then offered apologies. This must stop”, Cova said this morning. The second legal process is a basic procedure from the temporary employees against UTS.

According to Cova, this case must provide clarity as to whether the temporary employees have a permanent appointment with UTS or not. The temporary employees believe they have a permanent employment and feel supported by the two motions from the Parliament of Curaçao, which state that UTS and other government institutions that have been using temporary employees for years, should offer these employees a permanent appointment.

According to Cova, the UTS-management has done its utmost lately to prove that the temporary employees do not have a permanent employment with the telecommunication company. However, the former labor union leader and advisor of the temporary employees points out that it regards personnel who have been working for UTS for more than eight years.

(Amigoe)