Status Dia di Rincon
During the meeting of the Island Council on January 16th, 2018, questions were raised abouth Dia di Rincon. Since 2014 there is an ongoing discussion whether or not to designate Dia di Rincon as public holiday on Bonaire. This topic is part of the "Social dialogue Bonaire", in which representatives of employers, employees and the public entity of Bonaire participate.
Since 2014, the ministries of Social Affairs and Employment and Interior and Kingdom Relations have been in contact with the Executive Council of Bonaire on the status of Dia di Rincon. The last letter of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment to the Executive Council dates from October 2017. In this letter the State Secretary of Social Affairs and Employment points out that there is still a lack of clarity on the position of the Dia di Rincon. She states that with regard to the designation as a official holiday "the key to this lies primarily with the Executive Council".
Possible solutions
In discussions, the Executive Council has indicated that they would like to exchange an existing public holiday for Dia di Rincon. The day that might be qualified for this is ' carnival monday '. A decision of the Executive Council would shed light on this matter.
A more drastic option is the designation of an extra public holiday through a administrative decree (algemene maatregel van bestuur). That is a more demanding procedure, with a longer lead time, which can only be followed if the requirements of a broad support – also among employers and employees – are met.