Sir Roy has words of wisdom for UTC

Former General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Sir Roy Trotman, is all for greater levels of enfranchisement and empowerment for ordinary Barbadians, but he is reminding persons that hard work must be the underpinning of all they do.

Sir Roy, who is also consultant to the recently formed United Transporters’ Co-operative (UTC), was speaking yesterday morning during a press briefing at the Warrens Office Complex where officials of FundAccess started the disbursement of loan proceeds to the former Transport Board workers, now branded as the UTC, to be part of the Transportation Augmentation Programme (TAP).

“We have always argued it is enough merely to have an increase in wage, but that persons had to find a way through which to share in the fruits of their labour, in a tangible manner, so much so that they might be able physically to pass on to succeeding family members and to generations to come, what really would be a piece of the rock. We tried that with UCAL and it is now 30 years, given a day or two,” he said.

His comments came as he noted that even when the UTC members and others like them encounter challenges, they must be willing to make sacrifices where necessary and press on.

“Sometimes the clouds get dark and they overhang the sky and we believe that the storm will come and destroy whatever we are trying to build. And we have in this effort to recognise that storm clouds don’t mean surrender; storm clouds are occasions for us to buckle down, work harder and make sure we secure what it is we are working towards,” he stated.

He added, “Sacrifice will have to be made. We have to spend time, energy and other forms of give to the enterprise and that means significant levels of discipline.”

Sir Roy added that even where they employ persons, they must be equally willing to work hard and “exercise the correct vision”. He made the point while adding that they must also have the willingness to stick to it.

“I call it stick-to-itiveness, but it means having the capacity to stay with the project and not to surrender the first time somebody shouts loud or somebody barks,” he added. (JRT)