June 19th is indeed a day for celebration: celebration of all the many gains and victories won by workers through struggles led by their trade unions. There is no doubt that as a result of these victories the standard of living of working people has been very significantly improved.
However, while there is much to celebrate, there is equally a tremendous struggle ahead. Workers are experiencing exploitation, victimization, discrimination, unjust and unfair working conditions. Today in Trinidad and Tobago, almost as if June 19th, 1937 never took place:
Thousands of workers have lost their jobs by retrenchment or non-renewal of contracts;
Thousands more are threatened with losing their jobs;
Tens of thousands are unemployed and cannot put bread on the table for their children;
Young workers, including thousands of university graduates cannot find decent jobs, and those that do are on short term contracts making it impossible for them to plan their future;
Some employers are cutting workers’ pay and forcing them to work longer hours without overtime;
More than a hundred thousand workers are working with long expired collective agreements;
More and more workers are being hired on short term contracts making their jobs and lives insecure;
Prices are going up every day, making it difficult for families to make ends meet;
Additional taxes are being piled on the backs of workers;
Farmers and our nation’s food producers are fighting every day just to survive;
Small business-people and the self-employed are seeing sales fall and fear losing their business;
Privatisation is being planned for many state enterprises which would result in job losses, the removal of trade unions and collective agreements and the rolling back of wages, salaries and existing benefits;
There are employers – led by foreign multinationals - that are actively engaged in union busting and/or preventing workers from joining a trade union of their choice.
On this Anniversary of the June 19th 1937 Revolution, the Movement for Social Justice stands with the workers of Trinidad and Tobago and the Labour Movement as you organize for the struggles that are to come against the neo-liberal policies of austerity. This is no idle statement, as many of our Officers, Activists and members are themselves leading members of the trade union movement. Your Struggle is therefore Our Struggle!
As June 19th is an important moment to celebrate victories won, reflect on the lessons learnt and to prepare for the struggles that are to come; it is also a moment to remind ourselves of the Agenda of the 1937 Revolution and to identify the business that is unfinished. What are some of these lessons of 1937?
There was no division of the working class by race or religion;
The struggle was fought by all – workers, farmers, unemployed, men and women;
Mobilisation took place at the workplace and in the communities;
The most important political organizations and parties were based on labour: the Butlerite Party (British Empire Workers and Citizens’ Home Rule Party; the Elma Francois led Negro Welfare Cultural and Social Organisation; the Rienzi led Trinidad Citizens’ League; the Cipriani led Trinidad Labour Party).
What was the Agenda of 1937? According to one observer it was to “raise the economic and cultural standards of the masses, and to secure for them conditions of freedom and equality. The attempt to raise the standard of living itself has two sides. First the total income ..must be considerably increased, and in the second place it must be more equitably distributed”. That agenda is yet to be completed. Income and wealth inequality is wider today than it has been since Independence. And there can be no freedom if children are hungry; poor people cannot get decent health care; the education system fails the children of the working class; crime ravishes the land; and there is poverty and unemployment.
Why has the 1937 Agenda not been fulfilled? The answer is in the politics. As one analyst said:“…all these forces (of the 1930’s) served the political interest of the middle-class. Political leaders gave their approval to a particular type of union and institutionalised the Westminster two-party model of government”. In the case of Trinidad and Tobago the Westminster two-party model saw the division of the working people by race, religion geography and even trade union affiliation as the types of union that were encouraged/approved by the politicians were those that supported “their” party.
The PNM and the UNC fit this description perfectly. Both the PNM and the UNC have failed the working people; and they have divided workers by race and religion. Their track record is clear:
The UNC failed to deliver on the promises of the Fyzabad Accord and the Manifesto to implement reform of labour laws and to treat workers and unions with respect and fairness;
The PNM has violated the MOU – in three years there has been no reform of labour laws; trade unions are not represented on state boards; and unions have been excluded from decision making.
Workers were under attack yesterday under the UNC. Workers are under attack today under the PNM. Workers will continue to be under attack because neither the PNM nor the UNC serve the interests of workers. They first serve the interest of the party financiers – the elite, the wealthy and the powerful.
The task today is to complete the Revolution started by Tubal Uriah Buzz Butler. The British colonial powers did everything possible to prevent Butler and labour from “holding the reins of power”. The PNM and the UNC and their various agents have done their damnest to keep the workers divided by race and religion because they know that if we are united as working people and intervene politically as one, then “labour will hold the reins of power”. So:
First, there must be unity of working people. We must reject all who try to use race, religion etc to divide us!
Second, working people need to recognize that their interests will be served only when they elect into government a political party that will truly represent the interests of the many, not the few as they did with Butler.
The MSJ is that Party. We are Your Political Party. As we stand with you on this June 19th, we invite you to stand with us. We are committed to listening to you, working and struggling with you for a better life for all!
Let the Spirit of Butler, Rienzi, Elma Francois and all the Patriots of 1937 Live on in our Hearts and Minds and imbue us with the strength to complete the 1837 Revolution!
Movement for Social Justice
