BWU kicks off May Day celebrations with church service

Key national stakeholders joined the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) this morning as it started its May Day celebrations with a church service at the St Barnabas Anglican Church.

President Dame Sandra Mason; Minister of Labour, Social Relations and the Third Sector, Colin Jordan; Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association, Trisha Tannis; Executive Director of the Barbados Employers Confederation, Sheena Mayers- Granville; President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union, Mary Redman; and President of the National Union of Public Workers, Kimberly Agard, joined the BWU executive, staff and members at the event that is usually held at the union’s Solidarity House.

General Secretary Toni Moore said the decision to join the St Barnabas congregation was in keeping with the union’s thrust to reach out to the community.

“We are extending or expanding our outreach and, May Day, we have determined this year that we will come out into the community and this is something that we intend to do as we continue our outreach and continue to impact communities across Barbados.

“We are very pleased with the turnout this morning. There was good representation, not only from the Executive Council and staff, but from the private sector. We had the head of the private sector and the BEC, and other unions coming over to join us,” she told reporters at the end of the service.

Moore also spoke to the issue of health and safety in the workplace.

Sir LeRoy Trotman, centre, and President Dame Sandra Mason. (Photo by Sandy Deane)

She pointed out that Health and Safety was declared a fundamental principle and right at work just over a year ago, but stressed the issue has always been on the union’s agenda.

“One of the things that we are very concerned with and determined to achieve is to see an improvement in the number of safety and health committees across workplaces. That is a provision in law which has been observed in the breach and we have committed even as we have signed on to Mission Barbados, which has safety and health as an expressed objective. The Barbados Workers Union sees as its contribution to that mission in ensuring that our workplaces have functioning health and safety committees.

“Why? Because health and safety cannot be a subject for negotiation. It has to be one where management and workers at the enterprise level take responsibility for ensuring their own health and each other’s health. So, we are on top of that.”

This year’s May Day celebrations is being held under the theme It’s About You.  On Wednesday, the BWU will host its annual Family Day and Picnic at the National Botanical Gardens from 12-6 p.m. (SD)