“The judiciary is being used as a tool to end strikes,” Attorney at Law Murwin Dubois told Times of Suriname in response to the latest trend where lawsuits are filed against workers who go on strike.The judges often rule in favor of the employers and order the employees to get back to work as there is no labor dispute between them and their employer. The police, the fire department and the workers at the Energy Company Suriname (EBS) were ordered to end the strike and to return to their workstations. Dubois explained that these lawsuits putting more pressure on the legal system. He made it clear that everybody has the right to file a lawsuit but he expressed shock over this new development in the legal system. Dubois is puzzled by the fact that the judge stated that there was no labor dispute between the employer and the workers at the EBS and therefore ordered the workers to end the strike. He explained that the strike was triggered by the fact that union chairman Marciano Hellings was fired. “This is in fact a labor dispute because an employee was fired. The union at the EBS has the right to defend the labor rights of a union member. The union serves the individual and collective interests of each union member. An insult may not be used as legal grounds for giving a worker the boot,” said Dubois who added that the company claimed that it needed more income to cover the costs which is why it was only fair for consumers to ask questions regarding the company’s purchase of a vehicle. “This is a social issue which therefore can’t be deemed as an insult.”…[+]