Labour took seat at the table under Arthur

Retired trade union leader Sir Roy Trotman has said that the late Prime Minister Owen Arthur was a friend of the labour movement who contributed positively to the advancement of the social partnership.

Paying tribute today to Arthur who passed away Monday morning at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Sir Roy said the former Prime Minister was a person for whom labour should have fond memories.

Sir Roy, who led the powerful Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) for more than two decades, said he recalled working “very closely” with Arthur even before he became Head of Government.

“Because he sat quietly with me and other members of my leadership and endeavoured to give us advice and guidance which was very much appreciated at the time when we first got down to serious discussions,” he told Barbados TODAY.

“We were talking about our 1991 crisis and we were trying to put together a series of labour responses to the particular economic and financial problems that we had at the time,” the former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Member of Parliament for St Michael Central added.

The former DLP Senator also remembered that the relationship between the retired MP for St Peter and the movement continued to mushroom thereafter.

“Building from that, we developed a relationship where we were satisfied that Professor Arthur – even though we had fights from time to time – that he had labour at the centre of his thoughts,” recalled the respected labour leader who also is a former president of the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) and retired president of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Sir Roy remembered that soon after Arthur won the Government he responded to a number of concerns of the labour movement which resulted in a positive outcome.

“He got his Attorney General at the time, later, Sir David Simmons, to meet with us and we were able to devise a working relationship with the labour movement and some of those unions which were traditionally not given the opportunity to function as well and as fully as they might have wanted to,” he added.

He said the attention which Arthur gave to trade unionism has contributed significantly to a stronger and more meaningful social partnership.

“Arising out of those early discussions we were able to give greater attention to, and work more fully to transform the concepts and meaning and the level of interpretation that we felt the social partnership should develop into,” Sir Roy stated.

“We were able, I think, coming out of that, to grow that social partnership with him and following him, we were able to build on. Now we have that arrangement under the current Prime Minister where it is not only the leaders, but their support colleagues in government, the private sector and the unions,” he observed.

Sie Roy noted that consequently, the social partnership now has a much broader interpretation and is more respected and taken more seriously.

“We have to thank Professor Arthur for that. It is true that there are still problems we have with it, but it is not because he did not try,” he contended.

“I remember fondly his efforts to ensure that the labour movement was heard at all levels, and that we were not only in a position to receive messages or to hear about decisions. He was careful to ensure the leadership of the labour movement was able to be present when he held discussions with President Abasanjo of Nigeria for example,” Sir Roy recalled.

He also remembered that when former Cuban President Fidel Castro visited Barbados, Arthur had insisted that the labour movement should be represented at the table.

“That we should be properly positioned in a role where the leaders of both countries were able to recognize the value that the Barbados Government and the people of Barbados placed on the contribution which the labour movement was making and was able to make towards our development,” added the retired labour leader.

Sir Roy also reflected on Arthur’s decision to include labour in a delegation to China when this country was moving to further strengthen relations with Beijing.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb