Porters’ association at JAP ends strike

The PBB, the union which represents porters at the J.A. Pengel (JAP) International Airport, has successfully put pressure on their employers, Procons NV. After it became clear that luggage could not be unloaded from and loaded on a flight from Royal Dutch Airways (KLM), management decided to invite the union which had issued a strike earlier. The porters went back to work around 19:15 after the union and management had reached an agreement. Tuesday’s KLM flight, however, did experience some delay.

“After they realized that they could not ignore us, they decided to talk to the union. Meanwhile both parties have agreed to continue the talks next Tuesday. The union will make a list of its demands which must be discussed next Tuesday,” union chairman Robby Berenstein told Times of Suriname.

Berenstein pointed out that the strike lasted over an hour. “The people were at the workplace but they were waiting for further instructions from the union. The management team at Procons and the executives at Airport Management tried to ignore us by putting together a backup team to handle the KLM flight. But when the plane landed it turned out that the backup team could not get the job done,” said the union chairman who added that porters must be certified and experienced. “They must also be capable of handling the equipment and making sure that everything goes smoothly. That was not the case with the backup team which is why management decided to call the union,” said Berenstein who added that the union had given management until April 25 but”they did not take the union seriously.”