“We will no longer exert ourselves”

“This year we will go to the classrooms and if the students feel like paying attention, they will do so. If they don’t feel like it then so be it. We will no longer exert ourselves,” said Xiomara Cadogan, shopsteward at the Teachers’ Association (BvL) and the Alliance for Teachers in Suriname (ALS), as she explained what teachers are currently thinking. She explained that the teachers are discouraged. The Teachers’ Association and the Alliance for Teachers in Suriname held a silent march on October 5, World Teacher’s Day. The march was not held during school hours but around 5:30 p.m. “The tensions between the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (OWC) and the unions have reached a phase where the government should no longer expect the work to be done with passion because there is no reason for that,” said Cadogan who added that “there is no motivation whatsoever.” “If the ministry tells us to teach a certain subject, we will do so but we will no longer make an extra effort. We will do our part. Do not ask us to do anything else.” The chairman of the BvL and the ALS, Wilgo Valies, explained that the government’s actions have resulted in disheartened teachers. The response of Acting President Ashwin Adhin to a letter from the union has not helped to restore the work relation. The unions want to discuss the violation of labor rights but the government does not feel like doing that. The acting president reportedly explained to the unions, the C-47 Labor Union Federation and other unions that he understands the urgency of their request for a meeting but that the government currently has a very busy schedule.

Valies pointed out that the unions had expressed their willingness to talk things out with the government but that the government is reluctant to cooperate. The acting president reportedly referred the unions to the State’s deliberative body for mediation.