Curaçao parliament accepts law that forces evil companies(TM) to employ at least

[Umbrage]

Not many news reports about this because the west turns a blind eye when poor countries are acting like "evil racists" but that just makes it all the more interesting.

WILLEMSTAD--During a Central Committee meeting this Wednesday, Curaçao's Parliament is to discuss the "initiative draft national ordinance to promote a just chance for employment of local workers," also known as the 80/20 regulation.

The proposal will be discussed despite fierce criticism from the Advisory Council that it contravenes the equality principle.

The discussion in the Central Committee is scheduled for 10:00am. The purpose of the 80/20 regulation is to legislate that at least 80 per cent of the employees within any company must be of local origin.

The proposal met with considerable criticism from persons and institutions that believe it is discriminating. They point to the conclusion of the Advisory Council that the quota goes against the equality principle, is insufficiently substantiated, requires further research and may possibly even be redundant.

The Advisory Council further stated that the initiative proposal could not be justified, because it "constitutes an inadmissible infringement on the equality principle. It is also further against international treaties and the Constitution of Country Curaçao."

This strong criticism was no reason for the PS faction in Parliament as the initiator to withdraw the proposal. After the advice was announced, PS leader Helmin Wiels said that his party would move on as planned.

"We will simply continue. It is only an advice, nothing more. It isn't mentioned anywhere that we have to act upon it. Take, for example, the Netherlands, where the government also disregarded advice from the Council of State," Wiels had said at the time.

However, the entire discussion on the 80/20 regulation is not new. In 2008, the then-Curaçao Government together with the employees' and employers' organisations apparently had reached agreement on the need to introduce a quota for local employees. The "Labour Force Development Policy and Structural Proposal" presented in that year departs from the introduction of a regulation mandating that at least 70 per cent of all employees within a company should be of local origin.

The proposal of PS goes beyond that.

According to former Commissioner of Finance Mike Willem (PAR), the discussion on an 80/20 quota is inappropriate. He argues instead for a thorough economic plan and an investment in the preparation of sufficient qualified personnel on the island.

"Without sufficient educated personnel, the 80/20 regulation will end up in a 0/0 regulation," said Willem.

http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/18200-8020-local-workers-quota-in-parliament.html

The new law was accepted yesterday:

Parliament Curaçao accepts controversial law

WILLEMSTAD - Het parliament of Curaçao has accepted a law which forces employers to have at least 80% employees of Curaçaoan decent.

The law is considered controversial, opposition party PAR calls it discrimination.

Coalition party Pueblo Soberano who introduced the bill says the new law will protect the rights of the Curaçaoan employee against illegal laborers who accept underpaid jobs and poor working conditions.

The leader of Pueblo Soberano, Helmin Wiels, states that many countries in the Caribbean region already have laws that protect their own population on the labor market. He says it's strange Curaçao didn't have a law like this yet.

http://www.nu.nl/buitenland/2615983/parlement-curaao-neemt-omstreden-wet.html

Seems like a very sane law to me. If only the west was adult enough to introduce similar laws but instead we do it the other way around and force companies to hire certain quotas of minorities which makes no sense at all considering the "supply and demand" nature of the commercial market.

Also I guess sometimes companies do need someone to hold their hand or else they run into traffic with their eyes closed screaming "EQUAL RIGHTS FOR EVERYONE MEANS EQUAL LOW PAY FOR EVERYONE! WUHHAHA I'M GONNA BE RICH AT THE EXPENSE OF SOCIETY!"

[I disagree]

This reminds me of when I was visiting Colombia, where I was told about a business that only hired single mothers. I told my Colombian friends that this business model would be unconstitutional in the US because by law we're not allowed to discriminate for or against who we can hire.  My Colombian friends of course thought this was funny and said, "So the US would prefer to help nobody over people that need the most help in order not to discriminate?" Seems like a similar case here.

[Spectrum]

I dislike discrimination in the workforce, because it can easily lead to undesirable consequences (and eventually affect the economy). However, this isn't discrimination. It preserves the rights of the legal worker. How can that constitute discrimination?

[Queequeg]

It discriminates against the illegal worker or the non-native worker, but that should hardly be a major concern for people in any government. You handle your own people's welfare and well being before even pretending to give a shit about other people outside of your walls.

[Spectrum]

It discriminates against the illegal worker or the non-native worker, but that should hardly be a major concern for people in any government. You handle your own people's welfare and well being before even pretending to give a shit about other people outside of your walls.

To me, "discrimination" should only be a concern if it damages the wellbeing of a nation's people. I suppose it's just semantics. I'm glad someone had the brains and balls to do this.