The GTUC has said it does not support calls to have November 28 declared a national holiday since public transportation draws to a halt and this would affect a sizeable portion of persons who depend on such transport.
However, government has since declared Monday a national holiday.
At a press conference held at its offices in Woolford Avenue on Thursday, the GTUC said that the declaration of Monday as a holiday would be another attempt “to subvert” the right of citizens to cast their ballot. “The issue of voting is a right in contrast to governance which is a privilege and this right must be zealously protected and let the process start now. Everyone needs to vote and be allowed the unhindered opportunity to vote to elect the person(s) to advance their interests and protect their gains,” said Lincoln Lewis of the GTUC.
“November 28th must be the dawn of a new era. This nation has suffered too much and the people severely deprived for us to continue business as usual. It is time to rebuild our society on the foundation that holds all, bar none, accountable to upholding rights and laws which are essential ingredients to peaceful co-existence, holistic development, and maintaining the sovereignty of our nation state,” he said.
He said too that to vote “is to bring benefit to your livelihood, community and country. To not vote is to give away your right in determining who manage your affairs and in so doing you have also given away your right to speak about the shortcomings and abuses of those who are foisted on you.”
He said since voting is a right, everyone needs to protect this right by turning out in their numbers on the date and within the stipulated time to cast their ballot in determining their future.
“It is also the first step in participating in decision making as it relates to self and community and must be taken seriously,” Lewis said.
He said that in this “new dispensation that will dawn on November 28,” it is expected that conflicts will be addressed in a matured and constructive manner, void of fancy talks and agreements that are abstract and meaningless to aiding the process of peaceful co-existence and holistic development.”
Lewis pointed out that poverty has pervaded this society for too long and has been a major element in some anti-social behaviours and the destruction of families “and it must be handled in a constructive way with the goal of closing the gap between the rich and the poor and which would also serve as a disincentive to crime.”
