The statue of famous trade unionist, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, located in the compound of Public Buildings, George-town, was rededicated on Thursday evening, 57 years after it was first unveiled.
During the ceremony, Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, reflected on the role the trade unionist played in fighting for the rights of workers of British Guiana, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).
Hamilton said the greatest tribute Guyana could pay to Critchlow is to ensure holistic developments are made to keep persons in safe working environments, whether in the office or factory.
He said trade unionism remains important to Guyana.
“We must together as government and trade unions, fashion a developmental agenda that pays attention to housing and proper housing of workers, education of workers and their children, proper healthcare for workers. All of those are fundamental issues that we can pay tribute to Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow. Thirdly is equal pay for equal work and that is a project we must do jointly, government and trade unions,” the minister said.
“And so, the three guiding principles of the reestablished Ministry of Labour is the issue of training and re-training of workers because fundamentally, to run this state and to run facilities in this country, we have to ensure that we have people who have the requisite knowledge, intellect and capacities. The second pillar is the whole issue of human development,” he added.
