Every Labour Day, there are those who ask whether the trade union movement is still relevant. It is a question that should never have to be asked in a society built on the gains secured by labour.
My response remains simple: are the things that matter in life—justice, fair wages, dignity, freedom, and the right to share in the patrimony of this country—still relevant? If the answer is yes, then labour is relevant.
The fact that citizens can stand in public and question authority, participate in national discourse, organise themselves, and vote was not handed down as a favour. Labour fought for those rights. History answered the question of labour’s relevance long ago. The more pressing question today is: what are we doing to preserve and build on the gains won through the struggles and sacrifices of our foreparents?
That question becomes even more important in light of President Irfaan Ali’s invitation to the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) for Labour Day breakfast. The GTUC welcomed the gesture, because engagement is necessary. But Labour Day morning belongs to workers. It is a day of mobilisation, reflection, and recommitment to the struggles that made this society possible.
Labour remains ready to engage with the government at another mutually agreed time. But engagement must be more than symbolism or fellowship. It must be meaningful. It must address the condition of workers. It must address the restoration of collective bargaining in the public service, respect for unions such as the Guyana Public Service Union, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union and the Guyana Teachers Union, labour’s rightful place in national decision-making, and the rising cost of living that continues to burden working families.
Workers do not live on promises. They live on wages, rights, protections, and respect.
As Guyana marks 121 years since workers first organised in 1905, commemorates 100 years fighting for one man, one vote (1926–2026), and approaches sixty years of political Independence, it is necessary to tell the truth about labour’s role in national development. These milestones are not isolated. They are connected by one enduring truth: Guyana’s political and social advancement began with labour.
Before there was political power, there was worker power.
Before there was Independence, there was the struggle for internal self-government.
Before there were political parties, there was organised labour.
Before there was Cheddi Jagan, there was Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow.
Before there was Forbes Burnham, there was Critchlow.
Critchlow began organising workers in 1905. By 1919, he established the British Guiana Labour Union, now the Guyana Labour Union, the first trade union in Guyana and the first mass-based organised movement in this country. By 1926, under Critchlow’s leadership, workers had advanced the struggle for universal adult suffrage—one man, one vote—laying the groundwork for internal self-government and political self-determination.
By the time Jagan returned to Guyana in 1943, Critchlow had already spent nearly four decades building worker consciousness and shaping industrial relations.
Facts matter because history builds. One generation stands on the shoulders of another.
The truth is that even the People’s Progressive Party – the nation’s first mass based political party-emerged in a political environment shaped by labour. Critchlow was part of its formation. Burnham gave the party its name. Eusi Kwayana penned its battle song.
To erase labour’s role is to erase part of the foundation on which modern Guyana stands.
Labour’s contribution, however, goes far beyond the ballot. The trade union movement fought for freedom of association, fair wages, maternity protection, occupational safety, the National Insurance Scheme, housing, due process, and justice. Every right workers exercise today carries labour’s fingerprints.
That is why the Constitution recognises labour in Articles 13 and 149C, which speak to inclusionary democracy and the role of organised labour in national life.
Yet today, workers remain marginalised in the face of unprecedented national wealth. Guyana is repeatedly described as the fastest-growing economy in the world, buoyed by oil, gas, gold, forestry, and other resources. But economic growth must mean more than statistics. Growth must improve lives.
Too many workers remain trapped under low wages and high living costs. Too many families remain vulnerable. Too many communities remain excluded. Too many young people remain uncertain about their future.
What we are witnessing is uneven development—growth without justice, prosperity without inclusion. That is not what labour fought for. Our foreparents did not resist colonial exploitation so that wealth could once again be concentrated in the hands of a few. They fought for shared prosperity, where the nation’s wealth serves the nation’s people.
That is why labour continues to call for justice, equity, and fair play in the management and distribution of national resources. Oil and gas must not become another chapter where foreign interests prosper while Guyanese settle for crumbs. National wealth must translate into national benefit: better wages, better education, better healthcare, better housing, and greater opportunities for all. That requires an environment that respects rights, freedoms, and inclusion. It also requires political maturity.
Politics in Guyana must stop being an exercise in division and exclusion. Governance without consultation weakens democracy. Governance without inclusion violates the Constitution. Government and Opposition alike are bound by oath to uphold it. They cannot cherry-pick its provisions. Guyana belongs to all of us.
And to the younger generation, this struggle now belongs to you. Critchlow’s generation fought for your rights. Mine fought to defend and deepen them. Yours must preserve and strengthen them. Know your history. Know your rights. Know your Constitution. Demand accountability. Defend democracy. Because democracy cannot survive in silence.
Labour accepts responsibility for not teaching its history loudly enough. But that is changing. Because when labour survives, the people stand a better chance of surviving. The question, therefore, is no longer whether labour is relevant. History settled that. The question is whether we are prepared to defend the foundation handed to us.
