Union says TelEm needs urgent govt financial injection, cites Starlink, possible job losses

GREAT BAY--According to St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU), TELEM is seeking a government cash injection to stabilize the struggling national telecom provider amid mounting competition and years of financial mismanagement.

The SMCU warned that TELEM’s fragile financial position is worsening just as the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) has approved a five-year license for Starlink SXM B.V. The May 6 concession allows the foreign operator to provide broadband across terrestrial, maritime, and aviation zones in Sint Maarten.

While this information comes from the union, the management of TelEm has not issued comment on the state of the company.

“While we acknowledge the need for improved connectivity, this decision threatens TELEM, our national telecommunications company, which continues to operate under strict legal and regulatory compliance requirements,” the union stated.

The SMCU said government, as shareholder, has delayed the critical cash injection needed to shore up TELEM’s operations, even as foreign competitors enter the market under “streamlined concessions” that bypass the heavy financial and regulatory obligations placed on the local company.

The union underscored TELEM’s role as a national asset, built on decades of service, jobs, and infrastructure, but lamented the silence of its leadership regarding the Starlink license and its potential impact on employment, services, and the wider economy.

Recalling the painful lessons of Hurricane Irma, when abandoned businesses, unpaid workers, and wrecked infrastructure exposed systemic vulnerabilities—the SMCU said TELEM’s weakened condition today reflects years of neglect, incomplete boards, and “blatant mismanagement” under former directors. Employees, it stressed, have borne the brunt, enduring two rounds of layoffs without seeing financial improvement at the company.

The SMCU called on government to act immediately by injecting funds into TELEM, halting further foreign concessions that undermine its competitiveness, and strengthening the company’s resilience for future crises.

“This failure of oversight and accountability cannot be repeated,” the union said. “If this continues it will risk job losses again, weaken national infrastructure, and harm the island’s economy.”

The release concluded with a direct appeal: “Invest in our national company. Protect local jobs. Preserve our sovereignty in telecommunications. It is time to end the cycle of neglect and replace it with genuine care and decisive action. Sint Maarten cannot afford more excuses or empty promises. The time to act is now.”