During a presentation in the Parliament of Aruba, Parliamentarian Otami Thomasia appealed for justice and equality for Aruban professionals, strongly criticizing the double standard in employment compensation when comparing local talent to professionals from abroad.
Thomasia emphasized that if the country is willing to seek external professionals and pay them a competitive salary because the international market demands it, the rules cannot change when that same position is occupied by an Aruban.
“If an Aruban has the same training, the same experience, bears the same responsibility, and is held to the same level of accountability, their nationality cannot become a discount on their professional value,” Thomasia declared.
The challenge of attracting talent back home The parliamentarian addressed a central point regarding the message that society and politicians are sending to young people who go to study abroad. Thomasia noted that youth are constantly encouraged to study, prepare, and gain experience to later return to Aruba, but when they come back, the workplace reality sends the opposite signal.
“When they return, we cannot indirectly tell them: ‘Here you are worth less.’ This is not the incentive we need to create if we truly want to attract our talent back home,” the parliamentarian remarked, stressing that being Aruban should not work against a professional in their own home country.
Historic words of Betico Croes To illustrate that this situation is not a new problem but one that dates back decades, Thomasia highlighted a historic quote from
national leader Betico Croes from 1968:
“Every Dutchman who comes to Aruba is an Aruban who must remain in the Netherlands. Actually, it is an Aruban who leaves, but in our case, it is not an Aruban who leaves, it is an Aruban who cannot come back home, who cannot sit in that seat.”
Based on this reflection, Thomasia reaffirmed that this situation can no longer continue and that the value of the Aruban professional must be respected.
Market reality and the principle of equality Acknowledging the country’s economic limitations, Thomasia referred to the Utilities documents from 2013, which express concern that Aruba has a small market and cannot always directly compete with overseas salaries. The parliamentarian noted that this is a non-negotiable reality.
However, the parliamentarian concluded by making a direct appeal to fellow parliamentarians to maintain consistency: if the country is capable of making financial exceptions for foreign professionals, those same exceptions and treatment must be applied to our own people. Arubans deserve the same opportunity and respect.