PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Aug. 29,CMC – For the second consecutive day, police officers, firefighters, correctional officers and other security workers in Suriname held protest actions in the capital Paramaribo on Thursday.
The protest prompted Presdient Chandrikapersad Santokhi to invite union representatives for a meeting, after they rejected a proposal from the government to sit down with a cluster of ministers.
“We no longer want to talk to ministers, because four years of talking has resulted in zero point zero,” said Poetini Atompai, chairman of the Surinamese Police Union.
The unions are furious that, with the exception of the police union, the other unions had not received permission from the police chief to meet with their members at the Police Academy.
The unions’ main demand is a new salary range. They want the salary to include the increase in purchasing power of US$ 125, which has been paid for several months.
By working overtime, most police officers receive a salary of US$ 715 per month, but their actual salary is much lower.
Police officers who retire receive a pension of between US$ 179) and US$ 250 per month.
The demonstrators are particularly angry because legal status matters are not being dealt with quickly. Atompai argued that simple matters such as promotions, resolutions, medals, uniforms and personal equipment are being left unaddressed.
The unions have announced that despite a planned meeting with the president on Thursday evening, they will hold another demonstration on Friday.
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