-Unity still the rallying call among unions
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo will today address marchers and labour leaders at the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG)rally at the National Park in what will be his last May Day address as President of Guyana. FITUG, Guyana’s largest grouping of trade unions representing the country’s labour movement, will hold its May Day Rally beginning at 10:30hrs.
Speakers will include Carvil Duncan of Guyana’s first ever registered trade union, the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) and FITUG President, and Komal Chand, President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) – the largest bargaining unit in the Region.
FITUG organisers anticipate that between 2,500 and 3,000 members from its affiliates will participate in the rally, to which all workers are invited and which usually attracts private sector employers and foreign representatives, and features high-quality cultural presentations interspersed between the addresses.
May Day Messages
Meanwhile, in a press statement, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) saluted the working class of Guyana on the occasion of Labour Day 2011, and notes its fortitude, resilience and forward momentum.
“The Party, which is the foremost defender of the working class in Guyana, calls for much greater unity in the trade union movement where national issues affecting the workers are concerned. It takes this opportunity to urge the trade union movement to take forward strides in the best interest of its membership,” the Party release said.
“The PPP-Civic Government has from its historic inception in October 1992, been taking necessary and practical measures at governmental and other levels, in the best interest of workers of Guyana,” the PPP said, adding:
“The Party takes the greatest pride in its stewardship of democracy and human rights; and in honouring and safeguarding the Constitution of the Republic of Guyana. All in all, considering the time span from October 1992 to May 2011, the positions of the working class in Guyana have not regressed, but instead have showed vast improvements and a strong forward momentum.”
And the opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), besides calling on the labour movement to “speak out boldly” for their rights in its Labour Day message, also urged that they speak in one voice to better resolve whatever issues they may have.
“On this anniversary of Workers’ Day in Guyana and in many other countries around the world, the People’s National Congress Reform takes this opportunity to salute working people everywhere as well as their organisations on the achievement of whatever gains they may have made during the past year,” the Party said, adding:
“…the PNCR urges the Trade Union movement in Guyana and the workers it represents to speak out boldly on this occasion for better wages and some form of cost-of-living allowance to cushion the effects of the rising cost-of-living.
“The Trade Union movement must also demand that the workers be empowered to cope with the ongoing global food crisis which has been recognised by the major international organisations, including the United Nations and which has already sparked riots in many countries.
“Any action contemplated by the unions in Guyana must be premised on the need for Trade Union unity. On this occasion, therefore, the PNCR recognises the critical role that Trade Unions have played in the political, economic and social development of the country and asserts that such a role can only continue if the Trade Union Movement as a whole remains united and protects the interests of the workers of this country. The Party also admonishes the trade union movement to recognise that the current era demands that Trade Unions must make necessary adjustments to cope with the existing and emerging challenges, so that they can survive and remain relevant.”
The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) meanwhile, said that this Labour Day, Guyanese must re-commit to the struggle for social and economic justice begun by their fore-parents.
“Given what is taking place today,” it said in its customary Labour Day message, “it becomes opportune to assess the distance travelled, how much have been achieved, how much we have lost, and what it requires to achieve the creation of a just society. 106 years after National Hero, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, staged the first organised workers’ struggle for economic and social justice, laying the ground work for a succession of events to realise improved conditions in the workplace and wider society, such advancement can no longer be taken for granted.”
The union representative body said that for Critchlow and the labour community, the battle cannot only be fought in the workplace; that it also has to be fought wherever injustice exists.
“Out of this conviction there have been many battles in the streets, with the legislature, with governing authorities and business interests to ensure the workers benefit from the fruits of their labour and the resources of the nation. This relentless struggle achieved reduced work hours, improved working conditions, one man one vote,the right to self determination, political independence, and bringing awareness of the intertwined relations of the worker-employer wellbeing, wherein when such is justly treated it redounds to the development of people and society,” the GTUC said in its message.
It said that the struggle for a better society was, is and must not only be carried out by and for organised labour, but also for the un-organised, those who left the workforce and those who will enter the workforce, wage or unwaged workers, all of whom are equally entitled to a good life.
“Our unity must therefore be built around a common struggle to respect the rights of self and others and to realise a secure environment where all can live out their dreams fearlessly, and benefit from the fruits of this land, irrespective of one’s diversity,” the GTUC said, adding:
“Our diversity must be used as a springboard to unity and prosperity, not as a wedge to keep us divided and under-developed in the interests of the violators and their agents. And most importantly we must hold accountable those who are elected to govern, or say to us they will be our leader, be it in the trade union, religion, government, or similar organisation.”
GTUC said in its message that 106 years after Critchlow’s first blow, as a people, the battle for basic rights should have ended in 1966, “but since we are bearing witness to the daily erosion of said rights, it is of import this battle continues until respect is secured, because ours is the responsibility to safeguard a future for our offspring, the way it was fought for and safeguarded for us by our fore-parents. Fellow Guyanese it is time to intensify and unite around the struggle for our common good!”