Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) President General, Linda Brooks (left); and BWU General Secretary, Toni Moore, were among those who laid wreaths at the statue of Trade Union Legend and National Hero, Sir Frank Walcott.
TAKING TIME TO HONOUR LABOUR! Minister of Labour, Senator Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo; and former Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) General Secretary, Sir Roy Trotman, observing a moment of silence at the statue of Trade Union Legend and National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Frank Walcott.
Minister of Labour, Senator Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo; President of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Akanni McDowall; Barbados Workers’ Union President General, Linda Brooks; and BWU General Secretary, Toni Moore, kept hydrated as they braved the heat during the May Day march, yesterday.
May Day celebrations marked in Barbados
THE Barbados Workers’ Union’s focus on productivity was embraced by hundreds of workers who took to the streets for the annual May Day march, yesterday.
Led by the Barbados Cadet Corps band, workers from both the public and private sectors united under the theme “A Productive People, A Productive Nation”, as they journeyed from the Garrison Savannah, through Dalkeith, then onto Culloden Road, St. Michael.
At Culloden Road, Minister of Labour Senator Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo; former Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) General Secretary Sir Roy Trotman, his successor Toni Moore, and President General of the BWU, Linda Brooks, were among those who paid their respects and laid wreaths at the statue of Trade Union Legend and National Hero, Sir Frank Walcott, located on the grounds of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).
The Reverend Joseph King led the brief ceremony acknowledging the contribution of the Barbados Workers’ Union as “an agency of further enfranchisement of the masses in the social, political and economic transformation of this society”.
The march climaxed at Browne’s Beach for the signing of the Productivity Pledge by the island’s Trade Unions and the Productivity Council. BWU Senior Assistant General Secretary, Orlando ‘Gabby’ Scott, who served as co-ordinator for the May Day celebrations, described the pledge as “significant”.
“It is going to be significant because sometimes the Labour Movement has been criticised really unfairly, but are really actually one of the groups that started the Productivity Council… We are going to show all Barbadians that the Trade Union Movement in Barbados is together and that we are going to work with the public and private sectors to drive productivity. Because if you do not do that, we can’t extricate Barbados from the difficulty that it is currently in.”
Scott also expressed his satisfaction with this year’s turnout, which he said was larger than 2016. He also welcomed back the Massy Group, which had pulled out of the march because of disruptions from individuals invading the parade. (TL)