GUYANESE should be blessed by the number of disparate, significant and harmony-friendly national occasions we have to celebrate the reality and joy of our peaceful co-existence, our togetherness. Some are specifically religious; others are more national and secular. Christmas, though a Christian Festival, with religious connotations, has long captured and captivated an overwhelming majority of Guyanese, regardless of religion, politics or culture, with its nativity story of the virgin birth and celebration of the hope of that precious divine gift.

But like the world’s workers, the baby Jesus and his parents knew hardship and the persecution of fear and struggle to survive. They all have to flee a murderous despotic ruler into Egypt before returning, like grateful refugees, to the Land of Nazareth.

FITUG’s thousands of members certainly knew struggle and hardship during 2012. Our sugar-worker affiliates endured numerous challenges in field and factory, but GAWU persevered, our GLU members faced municipal woes, as usual, and the NAACIE members at the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) experienced downsizing technique of “contracting out” and disrespect for the Collective Labour Agreement. All of the FITUG affiliates were resolute in the defence of the rights of its thousands of members.

The Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) certainly took notice. That regional labour organisation approved FITUG’s membership application, thus displacing the local minority TUC. Ironically, it is to be hoped that that success results in some form of FITUG/TUC collaboration in the New Year of 2013.Our nation’s workers deserve that.

Locally, as we engage in this celebratory festival, praising the Christ Child and ushering in a New Yea, FITUG plans to strategise, then lobby our parliamentarians to use the New Year’s national budget to advance the workers’ welfare, to compromise on Parliamentary impasses, and to use the joy of the seasonal festivity to engender new year productivity. Make Christmas 2012 meaningful.
Prosperity for all in 2013 from FITUG.