The parliament of Curaçao has voted in controversial legislation obliging companies to ensure that at least 80 percent of their staff are of Curaçaoan origin. The opposition has branded the new law discriminatory.
The Pueblo Soberano party, a member of the ruling coalition in Curaçao, put forward the legislation. It says the law will defend the rights of Curaçao’s labour force in the face of illegal workers employed for low wages and under poor working conditions.
Curaçao is a Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela. It is a former Dutch colony and currently enjoys the status of a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
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Well the law is, by definition, disciminatory but it may not be a bad thing, depending on how you view things. Managing the island's labour laws could lead to improved quality of life for the islanders and ensure that local employers adhere to certain quality guidelines.
I think it's important to support younger people entering into the legal industry to challenge attitudes no longer deemed relevant to society, and it's vital they can get access to education such as the bar practitioner training course to allow new barristers, solicitors and other legal professionals a chance to make a difference.
It's another strike against common sense for our economy. The educational system doesn't get workers ready for a solid middle class job. The foreign companies that have to hire educated people for their positions will move off the island altogether. Instead of protecting jobs for local people this legislation will only serve to weaken this backward economy further.