WILLEMSTAD – MFK Member of Parliament Gilbert Doran is questioning his own government over its response to a planned strike by education union SITEK, asking whether the government improperly restricted the fundamental right to strike when it ordered the union to suspend or abandon its planned action.
Doran submitted questions to Minister of Education Sithree van Heydoorn following tensions surrounding safety at Curaçao schools. SITEK announced strike action after a serious incident at a school as concerns grew over aggression and security within the education system.
According to Doran, the government subsequently used a bailiff to formally notify SITEK that it should suspend or not proceed with the strike, warning that legal action could otherwise follow.
The MFK parliamentarian wants Van Heydoorn to explain the precise law, regulation or legal principle on which the government based that intervention.
Doran is also asking whether the government assessed its actions against Article 6, paragraph 4, of the European Social Charter, which recognizes the right of workers and employers to collective action, including the right to strike.
He wants the government to explain what circumstances it considered sufficiently serious or urgent to justify potentially restricting that right and whether legal advice was obtained before the bailiff was sent to SITEK. If such advice was requested, Doran wants Parliament informed of its main conclusions.
Another central question concerns why the government chose the possibility of legal proceedings instead of continuing negotiations or seeking mediation.
Doran wants to know whether all opportunities for dialogue with SITEK had been exhausted before the government resorted to a bailiff and the threat of court action.
At the same time, the MP stressed that the underlying concerns about safety in schools must be addressed. He is asking what concrete measures the government offered during consultations with SITEK and what additional steps are planned to protect students, teachers and other school personnel.
The dispute, according to Doran, involves two important interests: maintaining safe schools and protecting the right of employees and trade unions to take collective action.
He therefore wants the government to explain how it will ensure that the use of legal proceedings in this case does not have a chilling effect on unions considering legitimate strike action in the future.
Doran is also asking whether the government is prepared to return to the negotiating table with SITEK to reach concrete agreements on improving safety in and around Curaçao schools.