Over the past six years, NV Scheepvaart Maatschappij Suriname (SMS) has found itself in bad waters. According to workers, society has been left untouched for nearly six years and has been treated like a stepmother by the government.

Any incumbent government is willing to lend a helping hand to the shipping company, an employee notes in conversation with Suriname Herald. A collective has now been set up among the employees of the SMS.

Legal position in jeopardy
The current precarious economic situation in the country has caused the employee’s purchasing power to decline sharply and his legal position has been jeopardized. The salaries enjoyed by the employees have not undergone any adjustment since 2015.

With all the inflation the country has had over the past six years, the SMSer’s salary has stalled in 2015 and his benefits have remained unadjusted. “You can’t live with a salary of 2015 in 2021. We have been promised for more than six years by the various Supervisory Boards that things will work out, but in vain,” notes a very disgruntled employee.

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