Trade Unions associated with Ravaksur, the umbrella organization of the Labour Unions in Suriname, organized a protest manifestation on Paramaribo, capital of this country. C-47 and PWO, two BWI affiliates were among the major organizers of the manifestation.
The objective of the manifestation was to send a clear message of protest to the Government of Suriname after its unilaterally decision of increase the tariffs on electricity on past Labour Day (May, 1st, 2016) while there were still negotiations going on between the different stakeholders. The increase of the tariffs on electricity was imposed by the Government as one of the preconditions of the International Monetary Fund, IMF in order to attain a loan under a Stand By Arrangement of the Fund.
The organizations had also prepared a Petition to be handed over to the President after a march through downtown Paramaribo to the Cabinet of the President of the Republic: Mr. Desiree Bouterse. The march was a great success, since more than 10.000 persons attended to the manifestation. The Petition that was handed over to the President included the following two demands:
Immediate reversal of the increased tariffs on electricity;
Say no to the IMF methods.
The labour unions have meanwhile decided that based on the aforementioned demands they will continue the dialogue with the Government of Suriname on these and other policy matters.