Friday, July 21, 2006

by Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: For the second straight day, activities at the Suriname’s main port came to a halt Thursday as dockworkers and truckers continued a strike for better wages and working conditions.

The Surinamese Port and Transport Worker Association (SPTWA) announced the industrial action after an ultimatum to the Minister of Transport, Communications and Tourism (TCT) expired Wednesday.

The entrance to the port was barricaded with trucks and, after intervention by the police, the trucks were moved but the angry dockworkers kept the gates locked. The union, according to SPTWA-president Romeo Chin A Loi, is annoyed over the alleged double standards of the port management.

The workers are annoyed over the ‘slave salaries and poor social security provisions’. According to the strikers, it is unacceptable that several foremen of the shipping companies are illegal contractors while the Shipping Association refused to discuss this matter with the trade union.

Truckers are also angry over the sum they have to pay monthly to the port management for operating in the port. At a press conference, port manager John Defares indicated that this cost over the past three years has remained at US$13 monthly, while the service of the truckers range from US$18 to US$110 per tour.

Defares also indicated that the port management has no employer-employee relationship with the dockworkers and truckers. “We only issue badges for these people to enter the port facilities,” said the manager. He further stated that “it (the strike) is a politically motivated action to destabilize the government”.

Friday morning the port management will discuss the problem in separate meetings with the trade union, the shipping companies and stevedore agencies.

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