PARAMARIBO – “The minister of Education, Science and Culture did not present the facts in parliament last Thursday when he claimed that the people who have to clean the schools are lazy. He failed to mention that we do not have the tools needed to get the job done,” said Giovanni Beek, chairman of the union that represents the workers from the Ministry of Education (BPMO).

Chairman Beek pointed out that many employees who are of middle age or near the retirement age are given too much work to do. He claimed that the minister and some of his employees are looking for an excuse to hire private firms to clean the schools. Beek pointed out that there are other problems that must be addressed. He explained that there are no security guards and no lights at some schools. The union chairman also explained that some people are still on the list of employees although they do not show up at the workplace. Some people quickly decide to call it quits when they realize that they do not like the job that they were hired to do.

“Not everyone wants to be a security guard. The security guards are short staffed. Most of them are middle aged men who do not feel safe because they have to guard the school alone. If more security guards are hired things will go better. The issues surrounding the cleaning services and security must be addressed before he takes other steps. There are several ways to evaluate the performance of private firms but they are all prone to corruption.”