“Which international conventions have been violated?”

Acting President Ashwin Adhin recently informed the representatives from the Teachers’ Association (BvL) and the Alliance of Teachers in Suriname (ALS) that the government wants the unions to indicate specifically on paper which labor rights have allegedly been violated. “The government wants to know exactly which international conventions have been violated. If there are things within the system that are wrong, the necessary corrections will be made. A press release from the National Information Institute (NII) indicates that Acting President Ashwin Adhin on Friday met with union officials from the BvL and the ALS. The meeting came in response to the unions’ request to scrap the “rancorous measures” that have been taken by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. The acting president pointed out that the talks were fruitful and that the government is always in favor of having good relations with representatives of employees. The acting president made it clear that three important and separate things must be discussed. If labor rights have been violated, the issue will be discussed at government level. Policy issues will be discussed at ministerial level while technical aspects regarding primary and secondary labor conditions will be discussed with the negotiating body of the government. The acting president who has made this clear to the unions reportedly told the unions that he does not mind that Robby Berenstein (C-47 labor union federation) and Armand Zunder (Progressive Workers’ Organization) were also present at the meeting although they had not been given an invitation. Reports indicate that the Education, Science and Culture Minister Robert Peneux, Labor Minister Soewarto Moestadja, Home Affairs Minister Mike Noersalim, state advisor Eddy Jozefzoon represented the government at Friday’s meeting. The chairman of the government negotiating body, Sonny Kertowidjojo and the chairman of the Implementation of the Revaluation Program Commission, Eric Banel, also attended the meeting on behalf of the government. The government is currently waiting for the reply from the unions.