AF1 holds to January 1 deadline for 36-hour healthcare week after motion rejected by Dutch Parliament
ORANJESTAD, St. Eustatius — All for 1 (AF1) president Charles Woodley is standing by the demand for a 36-hour working week, with retention of salary, for healthcare workers on St. Eustatius by January 1, 2027, despite the rejection of a motion seeking Dutch government funding for the change.
The motion, submitted by 50PLUS MP Corrie van Brenk, asked the Dutch government to make structural additional funding available for a shorter healthcare workweek on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) rejected it on Tuesday, September 29. Only PRO, SP, 50PLUS, Volt, PvdD, DENK and ChristenUnie voted in favor.
“AF1 will not move beyond January 1, 2027, on this matter. We expect a 36-hour working week, with retention of salary, for healthcare workers on St. Eustatius,” Woodley said in a statement on Wednesday.
Minister advised against motion
Minister Sterk (Long-term Care, Youth and Sport) advised against the motion during the September 23 debate. She argued that discussions with employers and further research should first examine working hours, financing and whether healthcare institutions would be able to maintain sufficient staffing.
Woodley says that is not enough. “We do not need another generation of reports to tell us that 40 hours is not 36 hours,” he said. “We can compare the employment conditions. We can compare the contracts. We can compare the systems. And where disparities exist, government should have the courage to address them.”
According to the motion, healthcare workers on the BES islands work a 40-hour week, while a 36-hour week is widely common in healthcare in the European Netherlands and has also been introduced by other public employers on the islands. The motion also described the labor market of the Caribbean Netherlands as vulnerable and stated that the regular OVA funding system does not provide sufficient room to finance the change, AF1 said.
‘Who is going to pay for equality?’
Funding is the central obstacle. Healthcare employers have said they support the objective but lack the financial means to introduce it without additional Dutch government funding. Negotiations between employers and unions on a new collective labor agreement (CAO) for BES healthcare were temporarily suspended at the start of September, largely because of the 36-hour week.
Woodley says this shows the discussion is no longer about whether a shorter working week is desirable. “The question has become: Who is going to pay for equality?” he said. “And our position is that equality cannot suddenly become a local responsibility simply because equality costs money.”
AF1 argues that The Hague must accept financial responsibility rather than allow funding to become the reason equality is postponed.
Equality argument
Woodley frames the issue as a question of equality within the Kingdom. He points to the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands of 1954, which describes the relationship between the countries of the Kingdom as one “on a basis of equality”, and to UN General Assembly Resolution 568 of 1952, which refers to representatives meeting “on an equal footing”.
“If St. Eustatius is part of the Netherlands, and our people are Dutch citizens, why must we continuously reinvent the wheel when something already exists and functions in the European Netherlands?” Woodley asked.
AF1 acknowledges that the Charter’s language historically concerns the relationship between the countries of the Kingdom, while St. Eustatius has been a public entity within the Netherlands since 10-10-10, and that it does not automatically mean identical treatment in every area. The union says the principle nevertheless remains relevant to the wider political debate.
The union also points to the 36-hour week already introduced for civil servants of the Public Entity St. Eustatius. “If people recruited from the Netherlands can come here with better employment conditions than those available to people already working here, that creates another form of disparity,” Woodley said.
Retaining healthcare professionals
Woodley links the demand to the island’s ability to attract and retain healthcare staff. AF1 also refers to a March 2026 advisory report on equivalent care in the Caribbean Netherlands, which recommended independent research comparing salaries and employment conditions with the European Netherlands and with regional labor markets, including Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.
“This is about fairness, but it is also about the future of healthcare,” Woodley said. “If you want people to remain in healthcare, if you want to attract professionals, and if you want St. Eustatius to provide quality care, then the people providing that care must receive employment conditions that recognize their value.”
AF1 says it will continue pressing the Dutch government and relevant institutions for a concrete solution before January.
The full AF1 statement can be read here.
AF1 says it will continue pressing the Dutch government and relevant institutions for a solution before January.
