BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, October 30, 2023 (MMS-SKN) — Prime Minister the Hon Terrance Drew, National Political Leader of the ruling St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party which at 91 years is the oldest of the Labour parties in the Caribbean, has said that the party continues to strongly believe that workers’ rights, and interests of the workers, must always be represented.
“That is why I want to thank the St. Kitts Nevis Trades and Labour Union for you fought for the rights of our workers to benefit from the honorarium, especially the frontline workers -you fought for that,” said Prime Minister Drew on Sunday, October 29 when he delivered remarks at the 84th Annual Conference of the St. Kitts Nevis Trades and Labour Union.
The 2023 Conference of the St. Kitts Nevis Trades and Labour Union, which was held under the theme ‘Protecting the Common Interests of Workers’, was held at the SWMC Conference Room, Taylor’s Range, Basseterre. The Guest Speaker was the past General Secretary of the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL), Mr Asokore Beckles.
“What you have achieved is indeed great, and for that, the Union must be applauded for there were workers who were denied the honorarium,” stated the Honourable Prime Minister. “The government responded to the union, in collaboration with the workers, and we paid out over five million dollars to the workers who were considered frontline workers.”
Dr Drew was welcomed by executives of the St. Kitts Nevis Trades and Labour Union led by President Mr Sydney Bridgewater, and Secretary General Ms Precious Mills. Chairing the proceedings was the Union’s First Vice President, Mr Curtis Francis.
The delegates and invited guests were reminded by the Prime Minister that following another intervention of the Labour Union, the government responded and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, to persons who would have been victimised at their workplaces for not having taken the COVID-19 vaccines.
“The other thing that you fought for – and this must never be forgotten – was that you were on the frontline for the workers who lost their jobs because at that particular time they did not think that the vaccine was the best option for them – you fought for them,” said Dr Drew, himself a doctor of internal medicine.
According to Prime Minister Drew, in ensuring that the workers got the justice they deserved, the Labour Union stood on the frontline and that was the reason the government again responded to the call of the union and the workers. This was based on the cases having been investigated and proven that there would have been some sort of injustice laid out against the workers based on the fact that they did not take the vaccine.
“Thank you once again to the Union for your hard work, and as you continue to work to represent the interests of the workers here in St. Kitts and Nevis, I continue to ask you to never falter a day in your work,” said Dr Drew. “The workers need you.”
Also raised by the Prime Minister was the issue of minimum wage for workers in the Federation. He informed that the Government has sought to negotiate the minimum, as the last time it was raised was in 2013, lamenting that workers have not seen an increase in their minimum wage for a whole decade.
“For us in the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party, that cannot be right,” he told the delegates and invited guests who included former trade unionist, Ambassador Sam Condor, who is now the Chairman of the Minimum Wage Task Force. “The Union again is on the frontline with the negotiations within the tripartite system to seek to bring some redress with the issue of wages for our people here in St. Kitts and Nevis.”
Among the invited guests in attendance were the Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China on Taiwan, His Excellency Michael Lin, and the Resident Ambassador of Cuba, His Excellency David Rivero Pérez.
While saluting them, Prime Minister Drew informed them that the St. Kitts Nevis Trades and Labour Union which stands for workers, shares a lot in common with what happens in their countries, in what he termed as shared principles between St. Kitts and Nevis and the various countries.