The Anguilla Hotel and Allied Workers Union, under the direction of Mr Curtis Vanterpool, President, hosted a ‘Workers Retreat’ on the eve of Labour Day celebrations, Thursday 30 April, at the Bethel Methodist Church Hall in South Hill. This was done in a bid to sensitize workers in Anguilla to the need to become unionized, lest they remain open to exploitation.
Participants were invited from the various unions on the island. Also in attendance was labour Commissioner, Mrs Aunika Webster-Lake. The keynote speakers were invited from St Maarten. They were of Claire Elshot-Aventurin, President of the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions; and Mr Theophilus Thompson, President of the Workers Institute for Organized Labour.
Mrs Webster-Lake in her address emphasized that the Labour Office was not to be viewed as a workers union or an office that is pro-employee or pro-employer. Rather, it should be seen as an unbiased middleman to ensure that the employment laws of Anguilla are upheld for the benefit of both employee and employer. She advised that workers should join a union as their primary duty was to look out for the interest of the workers.
keynote speaker, Claire Elshot-Aventurin, President of the Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions, observed that the Chamber was an umbrella body for individual unions and that while each union, still maintained its own identity, unions came together to formulate and sign a solidarity charter to champion the rights of the workers and to ensure the implementation of policies advocated by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Claire was of the opinion that Anguilla has enough unions to form a chamber of unions, for, as she said, “Unity is power”.
One of the concepts Claire introduced to the workshop, and one that was further highlighted by Mr Thompson, the main keynote speaker, was that of ‘social dialogue’. As she explained, it is where you bring all social partners together: government (as it creates the policies and adopts the ILO policies); the employer (who provides capital but also needs to know the principles of decent work); and the Union (which represent the workers). She noted that she found the tool of social dialogue particularly useful in negotiating the restructuring of the teachers’ salary scale in St Maarten.
Mr Thompson shared the history of the struggle of the union in St Maarten which resulted in the union being seen as a partner rather than as a subordinate, in meetings with the government. It was a story of thirst for knowledge that led to regional and international training and development that culminated in being present at meetings of the ILO as an equal voice. The change in mindset and attitude towards the union in St Maarten has led to it being highly respected to the point where government no longer makes a decision that would affect workers without the union being consulted.
Mr Thompson also looked at the historical and current status of unionism in the Caribbean. He noted that between 1930 to 1969 unionism was the main force for social, economic and political change and development. Then he made a startling remark: “In my research, in the Caribbean unionism is dying”. He made mention of Cuba, St Vincent, Trinidad, Bermuda, St Lucia, where they have strong buildings but the organization is of no relevance and there are hardly any members. “They struggle because they have not adapted themselves to the new economic and social reality and continue to allow politics to distort their vision”, he said. On the other hand, Barbados and the Bahamas have strong unions and strong membership because they have changed their thinking. They are engaged in social dialogue/ tri-partism where business, government and labour unions are equal partners in social and economic development of the country.
As he said, “If you want your union to have an impact on your workers, society and government, you have to change your thinking, your attitude and what you want to accomplish. Make a contribution. Be part of the solution. Be a part of the decision-making. We are not subordinate, but it has to come with a mental change. We are equal partners in the social, economic and political development of our country.”
