Kralendijk- The partial strike which took place in Bonaire this afternoon between 2 and 5 PM was successful, with a few hundred protestors joining union leaders with a march to the stadium in Kralendijk. Today’s partial strike at government services is a next step in the union action against a cut in pension benefits by government pension fund PCN.

The union in past days has called on workers to join them for ‘informative sessions’ during working hours to be informed about imminent industrial action should Minister Plasterk of Interior Affairs not positively respond to a petition by the union to avoid an actual cut in pensions per April 2017.

The fact that no response has been received from The Hague has irked union leaders, who see the lack of response from Holland to the calls on behalf of the union as a lack of respect for local employees and their concerns.

Union leaders vowed today to keep intensifying the actions, leading to a complete strike which could result in the cancellation of flights to Bonaire International Airports (BIA) and even interruptions in the distribution of power to the island. Charles Mercelina, president of union umbrella USIBO said the cuts are just not fair. “While Holland and Europe has spent biljons to bail out Greece when they went through their crises, Holland is unwilling to come to the rescue of our pensioners. This is a very said situation”, said Mercelina.