Lincoln Lewis A Relentless Voice for Workers’ Justice in Guyana

By Romona Baxter- Black History Month (Guyana) is not merely a ritual of remembrance; it is a reckoning with legacy and responsibility. It demands that we measure the present against the courage of those who refused to bow, who organised, resisted, and built institutions that protected the powerless.

Besides Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow; Besides Joseph Pollydore; Whose name today is synonymous with Trade Unionism in Guyana?

For him, this is not merely a fight. It is not simply a profession. It is a calling. A calling expressed through an unyielding commitment to what is right.

Through his principled stance, he holds all accountable — without fear or favour. He is tethered to the rule of law. Among his non-negotiables is a simple but uncompromising standard: “If it was wrong then, it cannot be right now.”

He moves with a purposeful gait. Unassuming at first glance, yet when trade unionism is mentioned, something ignites. His voice sharpens. His conviction deepens. One senses immediately that this is not performance; it is belief.

For over four decades, he advocated for the rights of the working class — the proletariat — insisting that the common worker must receive a fair share of the national pie. He has described himself as “married” to trade unionism since adolescence, driven by an inner conviction that authority must never be used to exploit or transgress the rights of others.

By trade, he is qualified in Fuel Technology from Seneca College in Canada — a technical discipline grounded in science and industry. Yet even as he mastered that craft, his deeper education unfolded in labour philosophy and advocacy. He sharpened his trade union knowledge at George Meany College in Washington, D.C., and at Guyana’s own Critchlow Labour College — institutions rooted in the intellectual and strategic foundations of workers’ rights.

Trade unionist by calling; when asked should he ever choose another path, he once said he would be a restaurateur — preparing cultural dishes, serving community through cuisine. Because beyond the protests and policy debates, he loves to cook. Even in that imagined profession, the through-line remains the same: service.

He draws a deliberate distinction between trade unionism and partisan politics. The labour movement, he reminds us, preceded the political movement in Guyana. It is a class movement — one that influences social, economic, and political life — but remains anchored in checks and balances, not party loyalty.

“No trade unionist worth his salt can remain silent while the small man is being trampled upon.”

His advocacy has not been theoretical. In 1992, he successfully negotiated a redundancy agreement in the bauxite industry that secured six weeks’ pay for every year of service, which is a benchmark some unions still struggle to achieve. He has staged pickets, challenged institutions, and endured arrest in defense of what he believes to be constitutional rights.

“I am prepared to give my life in pursuance of rights for the proletariat.” That is not rhetoric for him. It is resolve.

This is a man who can trace his ancestral roots back to the last slave in the family. No wonder he remains deeply rooted in what is “right and rule of law”.

Inspired by both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, he acknowledges the contrasting applications of one cause — justice. Yet he insists he is not pragmatic, not partisan. He is driven by principles grounded in history.

Where does such advocacy place him? He answers simply: this is his contribution to peace and stability in Guyana.

Trade unionism is not merely wage negotiation for Lincoln Lewis. It is the defense of dignity. It is the insistence that power must answer to principle. It is the belief that the rule of law must protect the least among us.

On this day of Black History Month (Guyana), we honour not only the architects of our labour movement’s foundation, but those who continue to fortify it. I present Lincoln Lewis — trade unionist, constitutional advocate, and relentless defender of workers’ rights — whose life’s work reminds us that justice is not seasonal. It is sustained.