WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao's education union SITEK is calling on school administrators to grant teachers and other educational personnel a full day off on their birthdays, arguing that a recently introduced government policy also applies to employees of government-subsidized schools.
In a letter dated November 3, 2026, addressed to the management of subsidized schools across Curaçao, the union urged educational institutions to implement the arrangement while ensuring that students' education is not disrupted.
Copies of the letter were sent to the Minister of Education, the Minister of Governance, Planning and Public Services, and the Curaçao Parliament.
The appeal follows a government decision in September granting civil servants a full day of birthday leave beginning October 1, 2026. Previously, government employees were entitled to only half a day off on their birthdays.
According to SITEK, employees working at government-subsidized educational institutions should also benefit from the new arrangement.
The union believes that school boards and administrators have a responsibility to ensure that eligible employees can exercise this entitlement without negatively affecting classroom instruction or the daily operation of schools.
SITEK argues that because employees' birthdays are known in advance, school management should have sufficient time to prepare for their absence.
Schools could, for example, arrange substitute teachers, adjust staffing schedules, or introduce other organizational measures to ensure that lessons continue as planned.
The union emphasizes that the interests of students should not be placed in opposition to the rights and well-being of educational personnel.
Instead, SITEK believes both priorities can be accommodated through proper planning and effective management.
The organization maintains that granting teachers and other school employees their birthday leave should not automatically result in canceled classes or interruptions to educational activities.
Beyond the birthday leave arrangement, SITEK used its letter to express broader concerns about longstanding problems within Curaçao's education system.
According to the union, several agreements reached over the past two decades concerning working conditions, school safety, and personnel policies have either not been implemented or have been insufficiently enforced.
SITEK specifically referred to the 2016 education agreement addressing working conditions, the school safety plan, a 2013 protocol concerning citizenship, and agreements reached in 2019 covering educational personnel and employment conditions.
The union argues that the failure to implement these arrangements has contributed to increasing workloads, declining employee motivation, and challenges affecting the quality of education.
According to SITEK, these unresolved issues have placed additional pressure on teachers and other educational professionals who are already responsible for maintaining educational standards under demanding circumstances.
The union believes that improving working conditions and recognizing employees' contributions are essential components of a functioning education system.
In that context, SITEK considers the government's decision to expand birthday leave from half a day to a full day an important gesture of appreciation and recognition for public-sector employees.
The organization is now asking school administrators to demonstrate the same appreciation toward teachers and other personnel working in subsidized education.
SITEK wants the arrangement implemented in accordance with what it considers the government's original intention, rather than allowing organizational concerns to prevent employees from benefiting.
The union's position places responsibility on school management to balance employee entitlements with the continuity of education.
While SITEK maintains that subsidized school employees are covered by the new policy, the information provided does not indicate whether the government or individual school boards have formally confirmed how the arrangement will be applied throughout the subsidized education sector.
For now, the union is urging school directors to prepare their institutions and ensure that teachers and other educational personnel can enjoy a full day of birthday leave without compromising students' access to education.