US embassy cable - 04PARAMARIBO169

UNCLAS  PARAMARIBO 000169 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR -- MSEIBEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ELAB, ECON, SOCI, NS 
SUBJECT: TEACHER UNION STRIKE FORCES CASH-STRAPPED 
SURINAMESE GOVT TO OFFER CIVIL SERVANT SALARY INCREASE 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  In the first case of labor unrest this year, the Union 
of High School Teachers (BVL) began a strike on February 17 
to protest the government's refusal to fulfill terms of a 
1998 agreement between the Wijdenbosch administration (1996- 
2000) and civil servants.  In response, Minister of 
Education Walter Sandriman denounced the strikes and 
announced legal action against the union to force the 
teachers to return to work.  However, BVL, buoyed by 
statements of support by other labor organizations, is 
promising to maintain its hardline position until the 
government accedes to its demands.  While the teachers' 
strike is limited in scope at this time, it has already 
exacted a heavy price -- a civil servant salary increase -- 
which the cash-strapped government can not afford, and may 
touch off other strikes that may deteriorate Suriname's 
already battered economy.  End Summary. 
 
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TEACHERS: GOVET RENEGED ON ITS PROMISES 
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2. In the first case of labor unrest for the new year, the 
Union of High School Teachers (BVL) went on strike on 
February 17 after talks with the Ministry of Education over 
the granting of allowances reached a deadlock.  To exert 
pressure on the government, the union mobilized high school 
students to demonstrate at the Ministry of Education to the 
dismay of some members of the public.  On the following day, 
BVL led a peaceful street demonstration with about 140 
adults in front of the Vice President's office which is also 
the venue for the regularly scheduled Council of Ministers' 
meeting which was then in session. 
 
3.  The disagreement between the government and BVL stemmed 
from the GOS' refusal to follow through on a 1998 agreement 
brokered by the Wijdenbosch administration (1996-2000). 
Under this agreement, the government granted civil servants 
a clothing and a professional development allowance fixed at 
12 percent and 18 percent of 1998 salaries, respectively. 
In addition, it agreed to a clause allowing for a 
renegotiation of allowances contingent upon changes in the 
country's economic situation.  The Venetiaan administration 
insisted that it could not fulfill the terms of the 
agreement since it intends to terminate allowances once it 
fully restructures civil service salary scales.  At the same 
time, to pacify the BVL and other labor unions that may 
follow BVL's lead, the government granted one concession: a 
10 percent salary increase -- a 5 percent increase in March 
and another in September of this year.  However, this 
concession was not enough to satisfy the BVL, which 
maintained that the government still had to meet its 
obligations under the 1998 agreement.  (Note: The Federation 
of Teachers Unions (FOLS), whose chairman is a high-ranking 
member in the ruling New Front coalition's Suriname Labor 
Party (SPA), has accepted the government's 10 percent salary 
increase.  To quell the labor unrest, FOLS has offered to 
mediate between BVL and the Ministry of Education.  End 
Note). 
 
 
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THE GOVT"S RESPONSE 
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4. During a February 17 press conference, Minister of 
Education Walter Sandriman condemned the teachers' strike 
and announced legal actions against BVL.  Sandriman accused 
BVL chairman Wilgo Valies of exploiting the teachers and the 
students for the sake of his own political ambitions and 
disparaged the teachers for interrupting classes.  In 
addition, Sandriman vowed that he would go to the courts to 
force the striking teachers to resume their duties to uphold 
the "no work, no pay" principle reinstituted by the 
Venetiaan administration last year. 
 
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TEACHERS: WE ARE MAINTAINING OUR GROUND 
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5. In response to the Minister's statement, BVL chairman 
 
 
Wilgo Valies told the press that the union would not back 
down despite the threat of legal action against it.  Buoyed 
by statements of support from the labor federation de 
Moederbond, among others, a confident Valies asserted that 
he welcomed a court case and that he expects the judge to 
uphold the 1998 agreement and rule in favor of the union. 
In the meantime, he said, the teachers are prepared to 
continue the strike until the government meets their demand. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6. The BVL strike is the first serious strike faced by the 
Venetiaan administration in some time.  Given Suriname's 
long tradition of labor activity and the role of teachers' 
unions as lightning rods for labor unrests that have brought 
down previous governments, the BVL strike poses a legitimate 
threat to the Venetiaan administration, which can not afford 
to lose public support so close to the 2005 elections.  The 
strike has already exacted a heavy price since to pacify 
strikers, the administration offered a civil servant salary 
increase that will certainly have a negative impact on 
Suriname's already sputtering economy and may encourage 
other unions to seek similar pay raises. 
 
BARNES 
 
 
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            2004PARAMA00169 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED 
 
 
 
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