Rhoda Reddock is Professor and head of the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, University of the West Indies, St., Augustine Campus
In our lifetime we sometimes have the privilege to live and walk with people of great vision and genius. Sometimes we recognize that greatness, sometimes we don’t and even when we do, it often takes their passing for us to realize the fullness of their contribution. Clotil Walcott, who died last week at 82 years, was one such person, an (extra) ordinary, working-class woman who attempted to bring before the public, the hardships, experiences and struggles of working women, both in their paid work and in their unwaged work. Clotil described herself as a grassroots woman and became in many ways the voice of the voiceless, never waiting for an invitation to attend an event or meeting related to workers’ or women’s rights.
Clotil Walcott was born on the 7th September 1925 in St. Joseph, Trinidad and Tobago. Her first working experience was in a dry goods store. In February 1964, she began employment at the Cannings Poultry Processing Plant in Arima. According to Clotil, it was her bitter experiences with both the union and the employer while working with this company for fifteen years that helped to develop her interest in the oppression and exploitation of working women.
In 1965 Clotil Walcott began her activities in the Labour Movement by joining the Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers (U.C.I.W.). This union was eventually replaced as the representative for the Cannings workers and in 1967 she joined the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (N.U.G.F.W.) In her own words
