Emphasizing the importance of workers and their trade unions

May 09, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
I salute workers in the spirit of working class solidarity. I salute workers in the name of working class unity. I salute workers as we pay due regard in the month of May to the tremendous contribution which our national hero Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow made in the struggle for the emancipation of the working class of this country as he fought for among other things:-
a) An eight-hour day
b) Abolition of child labour
c) State pension for the aged
d) A united labour movement not only in Guyana but also in the Caribbean
e) The ownership and control of the means of production by the masses
f) A truly working-class environment
I salute workers in the name of millions of workers around the world as we celebrated Labour Day last week on the May 1, the most significant day in the working class calendar, May 1st. The whole purpose of Trade Unionism is to secure the best conditions of life for its members – the workers. The standard of life which the workers can achieve depends upon the state of the country’s economy. Put another way, as the national cake gets bigger, every worker can get a larger slice. But, the national cake can only get bigger if we develop Guyana.
Development is a complex process. It involves expanding economic activity by setting up new industries, exploiting new resources, and creating new employment opportunities. It also implies greater efficiency in the management of economic enterprises, and greater productivity of the workers. It necessitates the improvement of workers’ skills, capability and general education, not merely to enable them to be more efficient on the job but, importantly also, to enable them to live fuller and more enjoyable lives as human beings.
For us in Guyana, development must also mean the establishment of institutions and procedures to ensure that the wealth generated within the economy is distributed equitably, and that workers secure the just rewards of their labour. The Trade Union Movement, then, has self-interest in promoting the development of Guyana.
The whole business of development begins and ends with people. They are the agents of development; but they are also its beneficiaries. The success of our development efforts will depend therefore, upon how well workers perform their individual tasks and also how sensibly they utilize the fruits of development.
The education of workers is a basic task of the Trade Union Movement in the discharge of its responsibility for national development. This education must be three-fold in nature:
Firstly, it must help workers to gain or improve skills, thereby increasing their efficiency and fostering pride in their work
Secondly, it must inspire relevant attitudes, based upon an understanding of the development objectives and broad national goals;
Thirdly, it must encourage them to accept a rational scale of values which motivates them to make the most sensible and satisfying use of their talents, their money and their time. In other words, it must ensure that workers not only learn how to make a living, but how to live.
Workers are the decisive factor in the development process. Properly trained and motivated, they constitute the surest foundation upon which our development strategy can be based. The Trade Union Movement, then, must be tireless in extending the scope and quality of workers’ education. The Trade Union Movement should not abandon its militancy. A Trade Union which is not militant is dead or will die. The Government must be firm, put people first in the Guyana economy, people first in the information society, first through union organizing and people first in multinationals.
The Trade Union Movement should place their role in national development. The Trade Union Movement must not carry this burden of development alone. The Government has also its duties and responsibilities to the Movement and the workers generally. Given harmony and understanding, Government and Trade Union Movement can advance Guyana “towards economic freedom in a great economy”. Labour Day 2017 has come and gone but as we move from one Labour Day to the next let us not only sit back and talk but rise and act for the defence of the workers we seek to represent and for the peoples of Guyana as a whole.
Sherwood Clarke
General President – CCWU

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