Surinaamse Werknemers Organisatie (Surinamese Workers Organization, abbreviated SWO) was a trade union centre in Suriname.
The organization was founded in 1947. The organization had six affiliated unions. The main force behind the formation of SWO was the Surinamese Miners Union (SMU).Surinaams Verslag. Netherlands. Departement van Uniezaken en Overzeese Rijksdelen, 1951. p. 18Rudolf Asveer Jacob van Lier. Samenleving in een grensgebied: een sociaal-historische studie van Suriname. Emmering, 1977. p. 352 Another of the SWO affiliates was the Surinaamse Haven- en Transportarbeiders Bond (Surinamese Dock and Transport Workers Union), with 400 members.Directory of International Trade Union Organizations, Part 2. United States. Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 1954. p. 168
was the chairman of SWO, A. C. Calor its general secretary, R. E. Groenhart its vice chairman and A. S. Shukrula and R. Chandrikaperksd its Commissioners. The organization had its offices on .
SWO represented candidates in the 1951 Surinamese general electionSchuitemaker—van Steenbergen, E. T. (1951). POLITIEKE ONTWIKKELING IN SURINAME NA DE INWERKINGTREDING DER INTERIM-REGELING. De West-Indische Gids, 32, 154–167 The organization opposed female voting rights.Women's Rights Centre Suriname. Grote massameeting voor het vrouwenkiesrecht: 7 maart 1948
SWO was a founding member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 1949. At the time SWO claimed to have some 18,000 members.Yıldırım Koç. ULUSLARARASI SENDİKACILIK TARİHİ SWO was affiliated with ORIT and CADORIT. By 1958 SWO claimed to have some 20,000 members.
When the in Suriname Labour Council (Raad van Vakcentralen) was formed 1951, SWO obtained 3 out of 8 board seats - Eliazer (chairman), J. Strok and R. Groenhart.Directory of Labor Organizations, Western Hemisphere. Bureau of International Labor Affairs. 1956. p. 37.5
SWO had become defunct by 1960.Campbell, E. E., & Douben, N. H. (editors) (1990). Constanten en varianten : opstellen aangeboden aan prof.dr. P.A.J.M. Steenkamp ter gelegenheid van zijn afscheid als gewoon hoogleraar aan de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. pp. 80-81United States. Bureau of International Labor Affairs. Directory of Labor Organizations: Western Hemisphere (excluding the United States), Vol. 2. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1960. pp. 37.2-3 In March 1964 the ICFTU Executive Board decided to consider the SWO membership lapsed after 4 years of unpaid membership fees and a long period without contacts.Report of the World Congress, Vol. 8. International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1965. pp. 10, 174
References