WILLEMSTAD – Outgoing Minister of Governance, Planning and Public Service, Shalten Hato (MFK), has once again canceled a scheduled meeting with civil servants' unions as part of the official consultation platform GOA. 

This marks the second time Hato has failed to appear. He was absent from a meeting scheduled on May 8 and has now also canceled the follow-up session planned for Thursday. These meetings were intended to address important proposals concerning salary increases of 6 to 8 percent, the introduction of a job classification system, and changes to pension policies. 

Union representatives are demanding clarity on the exact implementation of the proposed pay raises and have voiced serious concerns about the potential effects of the new job classification system on civil servant salaries—particularly in the absence of binding agreements. 

Disagreements also remain over the official retirement age for government workers—whether it should be 60 or 65—and over the introduction of a gratification bonus for 45 years of service. Unions are calling for this bonus to be granted retroactively from 2016, while the government insists on implementing it only from January 2017. 

“The dialogue between the government and the unions is proving difficult, and no consensus has yet been reached on the issues under discussion,” the unions stated. 

The delays and lack of engagement from the minister have further strained relations between the government and the labor unions, raising concerns about trust and transparency in ongoing negotiations.