Guide to Doing Business
in St. Maarten

Unions

Employees have the right to join labor unions. The employer is obliged to recognize a union when negotiating a collective labor agreement, if the outcome of a referendum set up by the governmental institution ”landsbemiddelaar”, shows that the majority of the employees of that employer wish that union to represent them in connection with their labor affairs.

In the event that twenty-five or more employees are involved in a labor conflict and this conflict can lead to labor unrest, the employees and/or the employer in question are obliged to call in assistance of the landsbemiddelaar. In the event that there are less than twenty-five employees involved in a labor conflict, it is not obliged to request assistance of the landsbemiddelaar, nonetheless can its assistance be requested by the concerned parties.