IN recognition of the outstanding contributions made by Joseph H. Pollydore as a trade unionist, the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), and the Public Service Union (PSU) have moved a motion for a statue to be built in his honour.Pollydore is often touted as one of the outstanding trade unionists of this country and a negotiator and tactician who fought tirelessly to prevent the breakdown of the labour movement.

Commenting on the motion, GTUC General Secretary Lincoln Lewis told Guyana Chronicle that Pollydore is well deserving of a monument, considering his contributions pre- and post-independence. According to Lewis, Pollydore not only made remarkable contributions in the area of labour, but contributed significantly to the overall development of the country.

Questioned about a possible erection site, Lewis opined that the statue could be built at the head of the Joseph Pollydore Street in Lodge.

Pollydore, who was born and bred in the village of Catherine, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, some 65km from Georgetown, got his first job at the age of 17, and became involved in the trade union movement in the 1930s while working at the Transport and Habours Department (T&HD).
In March 1938, he became a founding member of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) of British Guiana, and while serving as the union’s General Secretary, Pollydore clashed with the management of T&HD.

The then General Manager of the T&HD, Colonel Robert Teare, had come face to face with the TWU when he attempted to put stringent measures in place to eradicate the numerous abuses, such as revenue leakages, malingering, excessive claims for overtime pay and sick leave.

Faced with major opposition by the union, Teare had taken a decision to transfer key members of the union, including Pollydore; and in response, a four-day strike was called to prevent the transfer.

In an article captioned “Joseph Pollydore: Eminence grise”, President David Granger recalled that the TWU strike had a galvanizing effect on other Government workers. “In April 1950, several unions, including the Transport Workers Union, Nurses’ Union, Government Employees Union, Post Office Workers Union and others, came together under the Federation of Unions of Government Employees (FUGE) to strengthen their ability to bargain with their common employer, the Government. Again, under the presidency of the flamboyant Andrew Jackson, Joseph Pollydore, as general secretary, built FUGE into a formidable front for advancing workers’ wages and rights,” the President noted.

NEAR-FATAL RIFTS
Pollydore was to see the Trades Union Congress suffer two near-fatal rifts during his six decades in the labour movement.

“The first rift, in 1953, came in the aftermath of the suspension of the constitution, when the six elected ministers of the original PPP were expelled from office in October. The next month, the ‘old’ British Guiana Trades Union Congress (BGTUC), which was aligned to the pro-USSR World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), was disbanded.

“Pollydore was part of the lurch towards the ICFTU, becoming a member of the executive council and later Vice-President of ORIT. It was on the bases of his positions and reputation in the TWU and FUGE and his affiliation to ORIT that Joseph Pollydore was able to win election to the post of General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress on a full-time basis.

“During his decades with the GTUC, Pollydore never held a position of leadership. He was concerned mainly with formulating representations to various agencies with which GTUC affiliates were involved in disputes, and submitting proposals to the Government for legislative action. He held the general secretary’s office for 25 years, and afterwards remained as adviser and consultant until 1999. But though instrumental in influencing the Government to take a number of minor policy decisions, he was publicly critical of the administration.

“…He was the eminence grise, moving behind the scenes, avoiding disputes, averting disaster, preventing ruptures, sealing breaches and bringing his considerable age and formidable experience to bear on the search for consensus among contentious unions. He was a conciliator rather than an agitator, and preferred to be seen as an ‘honest broker,’ regarded by all sides as an outspoken and principled man of moderation,” the President revealed.

Joseph Pollydore died in February 2003 at the age of 94.