THERE is need for “new blood” in the trade union movement said Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram, adding that the youths need an opportunity to make their contribution to the development of the country’s labour force.

“A labour movement is a critical part of a society but, it must bring new blood, new ideas and help to build courage,” said Ram at the launch of the sixth delegates’ conference of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) on Wednesday.
The attorney, who was also the guest-speaker at the event, lambasted the veteran leaders of the unions for extending their tenures for far too long.

“Leaders have bent the rules in their favour that challenges at election time are invariably doom to failure,” he lamented, pointing out that heroic efforts change because the leaders cited a change in the constitution that guaranteed their longevity at the helm of the union.
Although Ram did not identify a particular trade unionist, he did advise them to retire and act in an advisory position and let new people have an opportunity to lead the union.
“Leadership makes the movement strong; the structure of the movement needs to change and age limits need to be introduced and new blood nurtured,” the attorney said.
While he acknowledged that the changes might take some time, Ram encouraged them to add it to their agenda for discussion.

In addition, the issues of workers welfare and interest were also some of the things that he advised them to address.
“Let the debate be around a platform of sustainable development and based on the Latin American Region of the union movement,” Ram said.

According to the Latin American trade union movement, there should be strategies involving a new approach to the economy; decent jobs and good employment; universal public services; and a sustained strategy to redistributing income to the labour.

In order to achieve certain goals, veteran trade unionist, Grantley Culbert believes that they need to remain united, strong and they must do their best to build the country.
His sentiments were echoed by President of FITUG, Carvil Duncan, who added that they must bury their difficulties in order to move on.