THE trade union movement does not exist in isolation, but rather functions in an environment of politicians, employers, and workers (past, present, and potential). As unionists, we are also impacted by international and domestic laws, agreements, conventions, rules and practices. It is therefore the ability to interact with and manage all of these varying influences and actors that is most challenging for the success of the trade union movement.  Not only must we interact and manage these relationships, we must, to a great extent, resist some of the negative influences that do not serve our best interests, and which seek to undermine the strength of the union and our ability to organise as a force for change.

With an inherent culture of organising, negotiating functional conflict, and protest, we recognise the importance of all of these variables stemming from the socio-economic and political landscape, with the latter having the greatest power to shape all of these.  In this context, we further recognize that the relationship between union and politicians are cyclical, depending on whether or not they are in power or the opposition.

Unlike politicians who are interested in advancing the positions of labour only when they are in opposition, only to turn on labour with an effort to destroy our strength and organising efforts when in government, we in the trade union movement remain constant and are purely driven only by our interest in making better the lives and conditions under which the working class work, live, and survive.

Those who find us not as relevant today are the same ones that would have found us relevant yesteryear, and the cycle continues as political seasons change. Politicians vacillate, whereas true trade unionists remain constant, often finding themselves either in conflict or embraced with changing cycles. We must nevertheless organize, cognisant of these realities.  We in the trade union movement do not have the option of cherry-picking human rights and what we struggle for.  We will converge with whomsoever interests converge with ours.

There is a distinction between unity of purpose and all being in the same house. The unity the trade union must be constant in is its purpose. This is what we must want and pursue regardless of who is in or out of power. We want unity when it comes to respecting our rights, the pursuit of good governance, the good of the trade union principles as against the good of the politicians, and we must remember the political good is not necessarily the trade union good.

It is not about what I, Lincoln Lewis, or any other trade unionist wants. For ours is a role to bring about that level of awareness of people’s rights and role in society, and exercising our judgement based on what we the workers are entitled to. These include human rights, the right to a living wage, equality, equal pay for equal work, the right to organise and freedom to associate, the right to education and health care, decent retirement benefits for those who served this country and are entitled, the right to work and earn, and a social welfare programme that helps to alleviate economic deprivations for those who are indigent and less fortunate, police protection, justice and fair play.

No genuine trade unionist should make any apology when it comes to standing firm and committed to struggles for workers’ rights which are human rights. I make none. If those before me such as Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow and Jane-Phillips Gay had made apologies or were timid in their commitment and not stand up, we could not be where we are today. Theirs is an example, tried, tested and proven, that we must be proud of and resolve to uphold.

There was a time when women in the teaching and nursing professions here did not enjoy the right of choice to marriage and/or family. If organised labour had accepted and was complacent with what was relegated to womenfolk, we would not have achieved those benefits we take for granted today; neither would have achieved minimum wage, paid leave, occupational health and safety laws, universal adult suffrage, internal self-government.  The trade union movement, started by Critchlow, has a legacy in the struggle for independence.  All change stems from the people who are not prepared to accept a lot relegated to them by others. History has proven management/employer does not give workers anything willingly, and this entails whether it is government or private sector, we have to fight for it.

In 2011, Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, called for a united trade union. Last year, His Excellency President Granger in his address to the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), again made the call. Today we must acknowledge the work of His Excellency for making this show of unity in the trade union movement, on the platform, possible. Our platform comprises Chairman of the proceedings Aslim Singh of FITUG; Komal Chand,  President, GAWU;  Coretta McDonald, President, GTUC; Norris Witter, Executive Member, GTUC; former minister and current Member of Parliament, Gail Teixeira, representing Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo; and Minister Raphael Trotman, representing President Granger.  In 2017 the national unions have heeded the call for this form of unity.

In spite of this show, the GTUC affirms that unity in purpose remains more significant. We recognise that unity must run much deeper than a gathering in physical proximity. Therefore, it is for the trade union movement to continue its quest for deepening relationships and forging that unity of purpose that at times evades us. That unity that we advocate is premised on safeguarding and protecting human rights and dignity, equal pay, better conditions for workers, safe environments, and good governance.

Today, we the trade union movement, unified by President Granger, raise our voices in unity calling on him to honour the letter sent by us in September 2016 requesting engagement, which is consistent with the mandate given us in the Guyana Constitution.

GTUC calls on workers to remain constant, in the recognition, that theirs is a right to struggle, and to demand, and to ensure, that all the achievements are safeguarded. We the workers must remain constant, regardless of who is in or out of power. We have to keep our voices united and resolutely on course. We have to keep our eyes on the prize. The politicians don’t grant us any favours. You elected them and they are entrusted with the responsibility to work for all, not only the elites at the top.

Today we in the trade union movement, unified by President Granger, raise our voices in unity, calling on him to restore collective bargaining in the public sector, and return the agency shop for the public service unions. These were the things undermined by the previous government that President Granger had condemned; indicating that under his stewardship things will be different. Our unified voices are today raised, calling for these changes to be manifest.

GTUC calls on the government to take strident action to have resolution on all outstanding matters between the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) and the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU). This is the longest-running struggle, where foreign force is being allowed to threaten the nation’s sovereignty, when the laws so protect its citizens. Section 23 (1) of the Trade Union Recognition Act requires where a bargaining agreement exits an employer is bound to treat with the union and negotiate in good faith. And this must be respected for all trade unions across the board.

At the same time, GTUC acknowledges recent letters sent by the Ministry of Social Protection to BCGI and GB&GWU to come to the bargaining table, but we will not rest our calls for justice, until justice is attained, not only perceived but real.  The previous regime vindictively allowed BCGI to violate our laws because of who the workers are.

Today, we the trade union movement, unified by President Granger, raise our voices in unity calling on him to re-establish a Ministry of Labour. This ministry is important for shaping and executing labour policies that affect all workers — past, present and potential. In other words we the people.

[We]Trust that these requests will not be a challenge for the President, given his stated commitment and desire for trade union unity, and that which he has sought and achieved here today. If they are still friends of the trade union movement as they were prior to 2015, they must prove it. We speak with one voice on these issues.