Prioritising the Working Class

GUYANESE turned out in their numbers to celebrate Labour Day, which was observed on May 1, or the first Monday in May. It is a celebration of the working class which was first promoted by the International Labour Movement.

The first day in May was chosen by the American Federation of Labour to commemorate a general strike in the United States which had begun on 1st May 1886 and culminated in the Haymarket affair four days later. The day is a public holiday in many countries including Guy- ana.

In Guyana, Labour Day celebrations began in the 1930s under the leadership of Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow and the British Guiana Labour Union (BGLU). It was not, however, until the PPP administration came into power that May Day was declared a national holiday by the then Minister of Labour, Janet Jagan in 1958.

Since then, all May Day have been celebrated with marches and rallies addressed by Labour leaders and politicians.

Guyanese workers are fortunate to have a friend in the PPP/C administration which, from its very inception, has adopted a working class approach to governance. In fact, the PPP emerged out of the bowels of the labour movement.

This year’s celebrations coincided with the 75th anniversary of the passing of the Labour Relations Bill during the first PPP term in office in the short-lived 1953 administration which saw the suspension of the Constitution by the British Government.

The PPP was seen as pro-working class which did not find favour with the planter class but it was the passage of the Labour Relations Bill which, as it were, brought down the clouds.

The fact is that a conductive political environment is in the best interest of the workers and their representatives. Unfortunately the trade union movement is divided along party lines with the umbrella Guyana Trade Union Congress seemingly under the influence of the political opposition.

Never in the country’s history has the condition of the workers been better as under the current PPP/C administration. This is due in part to the confluence of economics and politics which have resulted in a surge in national development. The main beneficiaries of this development trajectory are the Guyanese people of which the working people are a major component.

As pointed out by President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali during his recent engagement with labour leaders, there is a dialectical relationship between politics and economics. In fact, development has to be seen holistically in which the economic, social and cultural needs of the individual are addressed simultaneously.

The working people have come a long way over the decades, especially since the restoration of democracy to the country on October 5.

The Labour Relations Bill, which led to the downfall of the PPP in 1953 has now become law and trade union democracy has now become entrenched for which the PPP/C must be given full credit.