PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Jun 1, CMC – Government Monday convened an emergency meeting as unions representing teachers called on their members to stay away from work as of June 1.
The Presidential Working Group on Trade Unions said that the unions have sent a letter to the government outlining their grouses and they are prepared to hold talks with the authorities on the issues.
The unions, including the Surinamese Public Teachers’ Union (SOB), Catholic Education Union (KOB), Christian Teachers’ Union (COB), Union of Teachers in Technical Education (BLTO), IOB, Union of Teachers (BvL) and the Alliance for Teachers in Suriname (ALS), are claiming that years of unfulfilled promises, the failure to implement the list of demands, and outstanding payments, including bonuses, salary scales, and allowances dating back to 2020 in some cases, are the main reasons for the industrial action.
The unions also state that the financial position of teachers is under increasing pressure and warn of a rising outflow of qualified educators to other sectors and abroad.
According to the presidential working group, a meeting with the management of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture will take place on Monday following a meeting with the presidential commission on Sunday evening.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has since appealed to ll parties involved to prioritise the interests of the students, expressing the hope that the consultations will lead to a swift solution.
Parents and guardians have been asked to take the situation into account and, if necessary, to ensure that their children are picked up from school on time. No school buses will be deployed on Monday.
The Higher Education Teachers’ Union in Suriname (DoHOS) has issued a statement of solidarity, and the University Research Staff Union (VWPU) has indicated that it understands the action, although it is not actively participating itself.
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Education, Putini Atompai, has dismissed the arguments that the government has only been in office for a year and therefore needs time to solve the problems.
Atompai is calling for a two-pronged approach, in which the government must take immediate action on the most acute matters, combined with a clear ten-year plan to structurally improve the living and working conditions of teachers.
“We promised all sorts of things during the election campaign; now is the time to make those promises come true,” Atompai said, adding “I want to tell the teachers that they must fight hard. It is more than clear that the government will do nothing if the teachers do not fight.”
CMC/ak/ir/2026