Racial Post for Job opening blasted by Gordon Carty.
Being black is not an impediment for employment
Gordon Carty pens the fooling statement: Companies should make qualifications, skills and experience the basis for their job recruitment, placement, training and advancement of their staff at all levels and not discriminate via race. So says leader of the United St. Maarten (US) party Pamela Gordon-Carty in reaction to a vacancy ad that circulated on social media on Monday seeking a waitress who “must be white.”
The US leader, who is also a former Minister of VSA who established the Pamela Policy, called on the current Minister of VSA to look into this matter. “The Pamela Policy was introduced mainly to try and eradicate this type of behavior on the labor market, which is hidden yet existing on country St. Maarten. If black people are not good to work and feed their families then they are not good to buy your services either. Business owners have to stop with this nonsense before this gets out of hand,” Gordon-Carty said.
The specific job vacancy post on Facebook has since been rectified. Nonetheless, Gordon-Carty said a job requirement that implies racial discrimination should not be taken lightly and should be dealt with immediately and not permitted to live a life of its own so others may think they can openly be posting these things in a country where its population is predominantly black descendants. “No ad should be stating color or preference of race, period.
She questioned: “Does this mean that black people can’t visit those particular premises? Or will blacks be treated with scorn in their own country? Then, it will be written on doors that black people can’t enter – or blacks are not allowed. What’s next she asked? Will there be a row for blacks, and a row for whites in establishments? Good food for whites and left overs for black? Or will there be No well-paying jobs for blacks but only for whites? Better education for whites and lesser education blacks? Absolutely unacceptable”
She pointed out that the definition of discrimination according to the ILO (International Labor Organization) is, “when a person is treated less favorably than others because of characteristics that are not related to the person’s competencies or their inherent requirements of the job.”
“Needless to say that all workers and job seekers have the right to be treated equally, regardless of any attributes other than their ability to do the job. Discrimination before hiring, on the job, or upon leaving is against international law which country Sint Maarten falls under,” Gordon-Carty said, adding that there are numerous international labor standards addressing discrimination such as: The 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Discrimination (in Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100).
“We already have a hidden sense of unfair treatment going on in other areas like application for certain managerial positions; also in certain districts, who can or can’t live there. Slavery is something of the past and will remain there! Business owners must be reminded that they are running business on country Sint Maarten and the entire Dutch Kingdom, Sint Maarten, and those conducting business here falls under the international law that condemns racial discrimination in all forms. No precedent will be set here with this post for others to follow. The population already is being victimized by the system when it comes to labor laws and now this! A total disrespect towards the people of St Maarten and its laws,” Gordon-Carty concluded.
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