On November 9, local news outlets confirmed that all academic personnel at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname (AdeKUS) have initiated an immediate targeted work stoppage, following repeated unmet payment commitments from university leadership and national education authorities. The industrial action was formally agreed upon during a general assembly of the University Academic Staff Union (VWPU) held on Friday, November 6, with the union publicly announcing the measure two days later on Sunday.
Under the terms of the stoppage, all affected employees will remain physically present on university premises to maintain basic on-site presence, but will pause all core academic, administrative and operational duties until every outstanding owed sum is fully transferred to their bank accounts. The dispute stems from two separate sets of signed, formal agreements that have not been honored to date. First, a bilateral accord signed by both the VWPU and the AdeKUS governing board outlined scheduled disbursements of retroactive back pay and travel allowances covering the January to June 2026 period, none of which have been released despite months of successive negotiation sessions between the two parties. Second, the national government’s widely announced bridge allowance for all teaching staff and equivalent education personnel has only been paid for the month of September 2026, leaving six months of retroactive payments spanning March to August 2026, plus the full October 2026 allowance, still outstanding.
The work action extends to both tenured academic faculty and non-teaching support staff represented by the union. VWPU leadership has emphasized that the stoppage is not intended to disrupt student learning unnecessarily, and the union remains fully open to constructive, good-faith negotiations with both the university board and national government representatives to resolve the payment delays as quickly as possible. Staff have committed to resuming 100% of their regular duties immediately the moment all overdue funds are processed, to restore full normal academic operations for the university’s student body.
Personeel AdeKUS staakt: hervatting pas na betaling achterstallige toelagen
