The Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union, which was organised in 1994, but remained basically inactive since then, has been revitalised and is making some progress.
The union held its first Annual General Meeting at the Auditorium of the Adrian T Hazell Primary School on Sunday, March 2, to sort out some of its organisational plans and the way forward. The agenda included the election of Shop Stewards and discussions on the delay of the Labour Code.
The opportunity was taken of the visit to Anguilla of Mr Chester Humphrey, President of Grenada’s largest trade union and President General of the Caribbean Congress of Labour, to arrange for him to address the meeting. Mr Humphrey, who was in Anguilla at the invitation of Mr Sutcliffe Hodge to be the keynote speaker at the launch of the DOVE Party, is also a Deputy Senator in the Government in the island of Grenada.
The well-known trade union organiser said that the economies of countries worldwide were in trouble and as a result those of the Caribbean islands were also in difficulty, causing workers much hurt because of rising unemployment. He observed that unlike other countries, there were no social security networks in the regional islands whereby unemployed persons could benefit from social assistance from the state.
Mr Humphrey drew attention to various matters affecting the rights of workers and the need for them to be properly represented by trade unions. He saw the Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union as an important organisation and stressed the need for all persons to support its efforts.
“There is a need for everyone of you, even though you may not be working, or just a parent, to play a role in ensuring the success of the Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union,” he told the small gathering. “We will provide some assistance from the Caribbean Congress of Labour to help with strategies and tactics to mobilise your union.” He commended the union for setting a goal to have a membership of 500 which he thought was a very good objective.
He advised the union’s personnel that as part of their work it was both necessary and important to look at a wide spectrum of societal problems. “Our values are disappearing – there is waywardness among children and these are troubling matters,” he pointed out. “As trade unions and parents, we have to take these on board. We have to become more concerned about what is happening in our countries and how they are being administered. We have to become more concerned about whether or not we have good governance; and whether or not politicians are doing the right thing …
“There is a disappearance of our sovereignty. Yes, we need foreign investment, but we have to be careful. These are small countries in the Caribbean. We can end up living in the ghettos of North America and the rich North Americans come down here and take all our lands. We have to have something that is preserved for us … We want development and these investors from outside can help us, but we have to make sure that we have the right policy in place.”
Mr Humphrey noted that Anguilla had a lot of potential for development and that the island’s hotels were owned by foreign investors. “I would like to see Anguillians own a little more and there are possibilities that this can happen,” he went on. “The Government can do some of this investment. Government can put down some of these hotels and give them to an international chain so they are owned by you through the state. We can do that to create jobs for young people because there is a serious problem of high unemployment in the region, and there are a number of things that a trade union can be advocating. You can make this part of your agenda – the development of the hotel plant under a government programme so that the people of Anguilla are involved in the ownership.”
Meanwhile, The Anguillian asked Mr Yusef Abdul Ali, President of the Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union, why it had taken his union so long to get going since it was set up in 1994.
“I am unable to point out exactly where it went wrong and why it did not come off the ground,” he replied. “What I would say is that there wasn’t much effort… I would also say that one of the main reasons is that Anguillians are somewhat intimidated. They feel that they have never had representation after the revolution, and they are a little hesitant in joining anyone or any group to represent them.”
Ali was asked what the new drive or revitalisation sought to achieve for the union.
“We are aware that, as our guest speaker said, world politics and the economy are changing,” he responded. “We, as young people, are aware of these changes and that the union system has not been developed in Anguilla. We realise that we are somehow backward, so we are trying to update ourselves and put the necessary arrangements and protocols into place to address these changes.”
He explained, however, that the Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union was fully registered with the Registrar of Companies as a non-profit organisation. Ali is the President of the union and the other leaders are Curtis Vanterpool, Vice President; Agnes Payne-Fleming, General Secretary; and Angela Vanterpool, General Treasurer. There are also 10-12 executive assistants. The union has an office in the Caribbean Commercial Complex and its website is axa union.com.
Ali is an employee at Dolphin Discovery at Blowing Point. “It is the first foreign company on the island that has more or less helped me to use it as a platform to get the union established,” he observed.
The meeting was chaired by Mr KeithStone Greaves at the request of the union leadership.
