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Undene Whittaker received a plaque honouring her outstanding contribution to Trade Unionism and the Social Development of Barbados from Hamilton Lashley, Founder of the Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation.

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Joycelyn Jones J.P., sister of former Minister of Education Ronald Jones, accepted his plaque for his outstanding contribution to Trade Unionism and the Social Development of Barbados from Henderson Williams, former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate for the City of Bridgetown.

Honour persons within communities

Going forward, community organiser and former Cabinet Minister Hamilton Lashley wants Barbadians to take the initiative to honour those persons within their own communities who continue to make a positive impact.

“We in Barbados have now to really honour our true heroes,” he declared.

His comments came as he revealed the inaugural Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation Trade Unions Hall of Fame inductees last Friday evening.

Honoured were Ronald Jones, a former Cabinet Minister, educator, a founding member of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) and a president of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT); as well as Undene Whittaker, long-standing community activist, former educator, DLP candidate, a past vice-president, general secretary and president of the BUT and a general secretary of CTUSAB.

“ Saturday is a very historic day of serious significance. What I would like to see going forward in this country is that every single community whenever Independence Day comes, that they honour their own community leaders. Do not let it be a political award. But, more so, those persons who deserve to be awarded based upon the work and their worth.”

Lashley gave the assurance that the induction ceremony was by no way political in nature, signalling: “This evening we will be inducting these two persons into the first ever Trade Unions Hall of Fame. We didn’t come up with this whimsically or politically, it wasn’t that. This year, we decided to look at two persons that worked hard across all spectrums and emerged into politics – emerged as leaders in their respective fields of endeavour.”

“Next year we will be going to the Barbados Workers’ Union, the following year we will go to NUPW. Every year we will be inducting persons into this Hall of Fame,” he said.

Furthermore, the Founder of the Foundation described the Hall of Fame as “the opening of a very significant chapter in the annals of our history, in the annals of our development, in the annals of our independence”.

In addition to receiving a plaque for outstanding contribution to Trade Unionism and the Social Development of Barbados, the two inductees’ photographs were hung at the Bayville, St. Michael office of Henderson Williams, former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate for the City of Bridgetown.

Joycelyn Jones J.P., sister of the former Education Minister, collected the plaque on his behalf, and shared with the small gathering that her brother has three heroes – “our parents and The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow. He said that the late Errol Barrow was his hero and he has emulated throughout his entire life Barrow and the things that he stood for”.

“It has been over 42 years that my brother has been involved in community development, unionism – in the overall development of this country that he loves… My brother is, what he was from birth – a man of the people; a man for the people. I feel extremely proud as his sister to receive this award on his behalf. Thank you for honouring him,” she said.

Whittaker also expressed her appreciation to the Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation. “ I want to say long live the Foundation,” she said.

“It is here for Barbadians who have given of themselves to our country and it is that recognition that is important. It is the sharing of the information of the space and encouraging participation in our Barbados to make it a better place.”

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