By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Strike action by air traffic controllers in Suriname entered its second week on Friday, forcing authorities to maintain a contingency plan including modified and rescheduled arrival and departure times in order to keep flight operations running.
Operations are being downscaled said John Veira, head of the National Aviation Bureau, during a press conference.
As part of the emergency plan, domestic flights are being facilitated between 8.00 am and 4.00 pm while international flights are allowed only between 4.00 pm and 12.00 am. Veira further noted that only flights destined for Suriname are being handled. All other flights requesting to use the country’s air space are being re-routed.
“Currently nobody else are being allowed into our system,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the implementation of the emergency plans has forced Caribbean Airlines to cancel flights to Suriname, since those flights normally arrive at 1.00 a.m. and leave around 4.00 am. Flight CA 880 due from Port of Spain early Thursday morning was cancelled.
Caribbean Airlines marketing director, Francois Pariseau, told local media in Trinidad that the cancellation of the 9.15 pm CA flight 880 was due to “action taken by air traffic controllers in Suriname.”
“We don’t know yet when flight operations to Suriname will resume. We are following the guidelines and instructions from the Surinamese authorities,” said an employee of the Caribbean Airlines office in Paramaribo.
Air traffic controllers and fire fighters at Suriname’s main domestic airport Zorg en Hoop walked out Friday after negotiations with the ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism (TCT) collapsed.
The workers are demanding immediate implementation of an agreement struck several months earlier, including installation of new equipment, improved safety standards, while they are also demanding an increase of several allowances.
According to Transportation Minister Richell Apinsa, most of the outstanding issues had already been dealt with, but the government has rejected the proposals from the union to increase the allowances.
The Suriname Air Traffic Controllers Association (SATCA) is demanding an increase of ‘air traffic service’ from SRD13.50 (US$4,90) to SRD250 ((US$90). The government has offered SRD100 (US$36).
The union has rejected the offer and is also demanding an increase for other allowances.
John Seedorf, president of the SATCA, vowed to continue the strike action until all demands are met. He argues that currently unqualified personnel are conducting operations and that flight safety in Suriname at this moment is not guaranteed.
Veira, however, refutes this claim, stating that only qualified individuals have taken over the duties of the strikers.
The implementation of the contingency plan is in compliance with international aviation standards and procedures in similar circumstances, said Vivian Hanenberg, head of the Civilian Aviation Safety Authority Suriname (CASAS). He noted that recently the same procedures were implemented in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago during a similar situation.
Although flights to Suriname are being handled, Apinsa warned that the union should bear in mind that this situation couldn’t continue for too long. She noted that immediate after the union voiced its concerns she personally went to the two major airports and listed all the grievances of the workers.
“We have listed all the issues and the ministry has implemented all that it could,” she said.
Officials have disclosed that the authorities are considering taking the union to court if the strike continues. |
