THERE are institutions and structures in society that are informed by its cultural, economic and political development.
Identified among these are the trade union and cooperative which have been the bedrock in shaping what Guyana is today. The immediate post slavery society used cooperativism as a vehicle to purchase land which was used to establish the village movement, build houses and engage in business ventures. Out of this spirit of collaboration and solidarity, communities were formed to protect and advance the socio-economic wellbeing of participants.

It was this period that saw the beginning of an era of capitalism sheltered by the colonial masters that also saw a new form of exploitation of labour, which included unsafe working conditions, long hours at work, low compensation for hours in excess of eight, poor health and education services.

To ensure better benefits for workers and citizens, a change in the manner under which the country was managed had to be realised. The task of challenging the status quo to make real the people’s aspiration was taken up by Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, who in 1905 led dock workers in a strike for improved wages and better working conditions.
It was a period when the decision to manage the welfare of state and that of the people’s wellbeing was seen as the prerogative of the colonial authority and merchant class. In fact, there was no right to vote by citizen unless he/she owned property and was educated based on the Crown’s standard.

1905 saw the people’s march to create a modern Guyana where they can have a stake at the decision-making table and their fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed. The right to equality through self-determination included the struggle for one man one vote, internal self-government, laws that protect the workers’ wellbeing in the workplace and wider society, improved working conditions, eight-hour work day, 40-hour work week, overtime pay, leave with pay, maternity leave, West Indian/Caribbean integration, prison reform, national minimum wage, workplace health and safety, freedom of association, collective bargaining, universal education and healthcare.

The trade union was joined in this struggle in 1949 with the formation of the Political Affairs Committee, which birthed the political life of Forbes Burnham and Cheddie Jagan.
In 1950, Guyana saw its first mass-based political party, the People’s Progressive Party, which embraced and ran with the programme of the trade union movement. The trade union gave support to the political activities as a result of its permanent interest. It is for this reason when the 1953 Government failed and the national political movement split in 1955 the view is held in some quarters that these incidents were significant setback in the working-class struggle for socio-economic and political advancement.

The Guyana Constitution stipulates under Articles 149C and 38 the role of the trade union and cooperative as named institutions assigned involvement and management in the decision-making processes of the State which carries a corresponding “duty” to ensure “the people through sustained and disciplined endeavours…achieve the highest possible levels of production and productivity and to develop the economy in order to ensure the realisation of the rights….”

Because these are so stipulated, progressive trade unionists and adherents to the rule of law expect compliance.

These insertions also confirm the framers’ recognition that the mobilisation and rallying of our human and economic resources for development in a post-slavery society were carried by the cooperative and trade union movements and are integral for continuity. If we are serious about people-centred development to disregard a nation’s foundation which lies the strength on which its people has been able to organise and lift themselves up is to undermine the essence of nation-hood and the people’s goal!

Let me make it clear: conscious of the nation’s constitutional requirement no one has the right to be flippant or dismissive of these two institutions. The point needs to be made that in 1942 a Labour Department was established by the colonial authority in recognition that labour has a leading role to play in development and moreso the trade union – which is one of the tripartite partners along with Government and employer – has a permanent and abiding interest in protecting and advancing the wellbeing of workers in the workplace and wider society.

Today, the nation is being told that the absence of a specific ministry that identifies with the name Labour, there can be nothing wrong because labour is a part of Social Protection. The architects of this position have not come to this decision based on proper research and understanding and therefore cannot seek refuge in any claim that the United Nations’ position on Social Protection absolves them in miniaturising labour.

For though Social Protection is a basic right embraced by the United Nations and International Labour Organisation (ILO), Social Protection is only one (1) of four (4) strategic objectives of the ILO Decent Work Agenda, which the Government of Guyana embraced and which has informed the Guyana Decent Work Programme. Simply said, Social Protection is a part of Labour and not Labour a part of Social Protection. Labour comprises of a number of cross cutting issues which include youth, women, elderly, national insurance, job creation and protection, child labour and so forth.

Conversations and commitment to respect the rule of law cannot and must not ignore the spirit and intent of these instruments and the role of the people and their institutions in holding Government accountable to be responsive to needs guaranteed under the Constitution. Now is the time to right the wrongs and put this nation back on tract where laws are supreme, people’s rights, freedoms, institutions and structures are safeguarded.

The trade union and cooperative movements have been the vanguard in laying the foundation for modern Guyana and the development of its people. The Guyana Constitution has guaranteed them their place in the socio-economic and political order and such must be respected.

Now is the time to right the wrongs and put this nation back on tract where laws are supreme, people’s rights, freedoms, institutions and structures are safeguarded.
The trade union and cooperative movements have been the vanguard in laying the foundation for modern Guyana and the development of its people. The Guyana Constitution has guaranteed them their place in the socio-economic and political order and such must be respected.

By Lincoln Lewis