WILLEMSTAD – The national dialogue on the General Old Age Insurance (AOV), organized by the Pisas government Monday evening at the University of Curaçao, has drawn sharp criticism from trade unions.

Kenneth Valpoort of the trade union federation CGTC said that social partners were not involved in preparing the event and, in fact, were not even invited. “I only learned about this meeting through the media. This hardly seems like a national discussion,” Valpoort told local press.

Opposition parties PAR and MAN-PIN also voiced concerns, arguing that instead of staging one-off dialogues, the government should move forward with concrete legislation to address pension reform.

The unions further pointed out that the official National Dialogue Platform, which was designed as a forum for government, trade unions, and the employers’ association VBC to discuss major national issues, has not convened in a long time. They argued that this platform would be the appropriate venue for a structured conversation on the future of the AOV system, rather than separate initiatives like the current dialogue.

The government, however, stressed that Monday’s session was the first in a series of six, aimed at shaping long-term solutions for the pension system. The opening night featured presentations by Miguel Jackson of the Ministry of Finance and Sean de Boer of the Central Bureau of Statistics, focusing on financial sustainability, poverty, inflation, and purchasing power.

According to the government, the dialogue is meant to generate shared insights that will contribute to building a sustainable and fair AOV system for Curaçao’s future.