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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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Let's have a united Labour Day Parade It is unfortunate that Obie Ferguson, president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), declined to accept the invitation extended by John Pinder, president of the National Congress of Trade Unions (NCTU) for the two umbrella trade union organizations to unite for one major march on Labour Day this Friday. In its report on a press conference held by Ferguson on Tuesday, The Nassau Guardian noted that the two umbrella trade union groups "have once again failed to settle their differences to unite for one march" and suggested that "whether or not they will ever again celebrate Labour Day as one organization still remains a mystery." This year in particular, with all of the hardships and uncertainties currently facing workers as a result of the worldwide economic crisis, it should be mandatory for all labor leaders to put their egos on mothballs and do what is in the best interest of the workers. At his press conference, Ferguson fully indicated that he understands that "this Labour Day is obviously unique due to the economy not being in the best of shape," as The Guardian quoted him as saying. The article also attributed this statement to the TUC leader: "We are not in the best state in this country today as far as workers are concerned. We need strong, firm leadership in the trade union movement. We need focused leadership and people who are well rounded in economics, management, labor relations to be able to represent effectively the interests of workers in this land." He could have gone one step further and declared that we also need cooperative union leaders who are prepared to put the welfare of the workers above their personal ambitions and demonstrate his commitment to doing this by accepting Pinder's invitation to have a united Labour Day march. Certainly, whatever differences exist between these two groups should not be so great that they cannot be put aside for one day, for the workers of The Bahamas to join forces to celebrate the rich history of the trade union movement in this country. And what a rich history it is. There have been a number of watershed achievements in the labor movement that have contributed to this rich history, but probably the one that stands out the most is the general strike of 1958, which not only paved the way for landmark achievements on the labor front, but also provided momentum for the progressive political struggle that eventually led to majority rule being attained with the Progressive Liberal Party's historic election victory on January 10, 1967. As noted by the NCTU in a press statement several years ago in observance of the 48th anniversary of the general strike, it was on January 12, 1958, that "a group of brave and dedicated trade unionists took action in what eventually became one of the most important acts of disobedience in the history of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. "This milestone played a pivotal (role) in the growth and development of the trade union movement, the call for social justice and solidified the Bahamian trade union movement in history as the catalyst for social and economic justice for the Bahamian masses," the statement noted. Key labor leaders in that general strike were Sir Clifford Darling, who was then president of the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union, and Sir Randol Fawkes, the then leader of the Bahamas Federation of Labour (BFL). Surely, today's labor leaders can learn a lesson in cooperation from these labor movement giants of yesteryear, and a good starting point for Mr. Pinder and Mr. Ferguson could be a united Labour Day march this Friday. Thursday, June 4, 2009