“As promised I checked the presence of the workers personally. Everything went smoothly that day. The extreme cases have already been recommended for dismissal. Those are the people that went too far and who do not take their duties at the Public Works Ministry seriously,” Public Works Minister Riad Nurmohamed told Times of Suriname. The minister who paid a surprise visit to the regional office of his ministry in the Nickerie District did not rule out the possibility that the employees who do not stick to the labor agreement will be given the boot. The surprise inspection was aimed at finding out personally which workers show up late at the office or who do not show up at all.

The minister has received numerous complaints about workers who do not stay at the office until closing time. “There is something going on because I have received complaints,” said the minister who added that a group of 10 to 30 people were hired by the NDP shortly before the general elections were held in May 2020. He claimed that “this group is very dangerous” and that he therefore decided that they did not have to show up at the workplace as they pose a threat to their colleagues. Those workers only show up to sign the attendance list before leaving straight after. “I haven’t decided yet what to do with them.”…[+]