Hundreds defy rain in historic Labour Day Rally

May 02, 2016 News

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By Feona Morrison

It was indeed an historical and peaceful Labour Day Rally as hundreds of workers and activists hit the streets of Georgetown yesterday to highlight poor wages and call for better working conditions.
This year’s May Day rally was deemed historic because it was the first time in history that the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) set aside their differences and collaborated for rights of the working class.
Despite a persistent drizzle mixed with intermittent showers persons from across the length and breadth of Guyana came out in their red and white from as early as 07:00hrs to assemble at the Parade Ground.
There, they made final preparations for their bands to proceed along the parade route. This proved to be a challenging task since the rain showed no mercy. However, this did not hinder the high spirits of the dedicated workers and spectators who arrived well equipped with their umbrellas and rain coats.
Contingents were taken from several Trade Unions as well as Government Ministries, including the Ministry of Social Protection; The Ministry of Education; GTUC; FITUG; The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU); Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) among others.
The GTU and the Ministry of Education were two of the largest contingents. The procession kicked off from Parade Ground and headed west into Main Street where it was met by Prime Minister Honourable Moses Nagamootoo who gave warm greetings to members of the various groups.
Nagamootoo then joined Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence and together, the two led the way for the Ministry of Social Protection group into Church Street, where the Prime Minster departed.
Nevertheless, the day’s event continued as demonstrators held up their placards and banners, some of which called for the removal of Carvil Duncan, President of the FITUG and General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union (GLU).
Other placards highlighted more demands of the workers including better wages and salaries with most of them making appeals for a fifty percent increase.
There were also placards calling for a halt to the closure of sugar estates.
The walk continued up Durban Street, where a large number of spectators both young and old took to the parapets with their cameras or just to look on. The Golden Arrow Head was undoubtedly a spectacular symbol of nationhood that was also being waved by many.
The little raindrops apparently did not bother the marchers some of whom were already soaked. A huge crowd gathered at the 1763 monument landmark. It was at this location that many of the bands stopped for photos to be taken by the media. From here on it was smooth sailing and no disturbances from the rain. The rally turned west into Regent Street then north into Albert Street, where a group of women protested for equal rights for domestic workers and women and children.
These women also held up banners and placard, some of which read “Domestic workers must have the same rights as other workers”, “Trade union support domestic workers for better working condition” among others.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, Joy Marcus, a representative of Red Thread said that domestic workers should be paid wages that can properly sustain them.
“..We are saying that we want a living income too, and what we are getting at the moment is not a living income… And yes, we want fifty percent too. And we want the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 189, which was ratified by the former government to be implemented.”
Marcus continued, “So that domestic workers can enjoy the rights as other workers because the ILO Convention demands that domestic workers must have rights as other workers.”
The walk to the National Park was enjoyed by many as they pulsated to Soca vibes by some of the Caribbean’s best artistes.
Proceedings came to an end at the National Park, where a planned programme of activities kept the audience lively. This was followed by addresses by Prime Minister Nagamootoo; PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee; President of GTUC Leslie Gonsalves; General Secretary of the GTUC Lincoln Lewis and others.
A significant part of the programme was when the leaders all stood holding hands in unity as they sang the Trade Union Anthem “Solidarity Forever”.
Most of the speakers were well accepted by the crowd except for Rohee who was heckled from the time he took to the podium until he uttered his last word. The Prime Minister’s speech was well received as he spoke about government’s plans for the workers.

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