Teachers reject government’s revaluation proposal

The government reportedly offered to pay the financial revaluation in full to one group of teachers at the end of May while other teachers will receive the rest at the end of June. The proposal that was presented to union chairman Wilgo Valies during the weekend was rejected by union members on Monday. The union members reportedly instructed union officials to return to the negotiating table. The teachers who are members of the Teachers’ Association (BvL) and the Alliance for Teachers in Suriname (ALS) want full revaluation payment for all teachers and are no longer willing to be patient and understanding. After the union meeting the chairman of the BvL and the ALS, Valies, told reporters that is a difficult task for union officials but that he can relate to their feelings. Valies pointed out that the unions have tried to find a solution and that the government cooperated during the negotiations but that union members deem the current proposal insufficient. The educators pointed out that the government has been fooling them since October 2016 and that they are fed up with it. The teachers who attended the union meeting were clearly annoyed when the chairman presented the government’s proposal to them. “There are schools where there is something wrong with the gates. Everything must be shut down,” said one of the teachers at the union meeting. “The government’s objective is to ‘save’ the third semester. If we go back to school now, it is over,” said another teacher who added that the government is clearly trying to buy more time so that teachers can be forgotten when the summer vacation draws near. The government explained that employees at Cebuma have to fill in documents by hand which is why things are not going smoothly. The teachers referred to this as a lame excuse. The teachers also pointed out that the government must make sure that Cebuma keeps up the pace with the latest developments in the ICT sector. Valies made it clear that the situation must not be underestimated. “The government has created a complicated situation. One cannot keep expecting teachers to remain flexible each time a promise is made. The unions and the government have their work cut out for them because they must create a healthy climate for teachers. Valies made it clear to the union members that if they are prepared to keep up the fight, the only condition is that they must form and maintain a tight group.