As trade unionists laid wreaths on the grave of labour hero Tubal Uriah Buzz Butler yesterday, president general of the Bankers and General Workers Trade Union (BIGWU), Vincent Cabrera, accused some of his colleagues of losing sight of Butler’s political vision. Cabrera was among a handful of labour stalwarts who garlanded a statue of Butler and placed flowers at his grave at Fyzabad, to pay homage to him for leading oil workers and cane farmers in a historic battle against colonialism. He said some of his comrades had faltered. “Early comrades saw a vision for society and a vision for the labour movement that some trade union leaders today still don’t have,” he said.
Asked to elaborate, Cabrera said: “The Butler vision was one where the workers would eventually hold the reigns of power but there are some trade unionists who don’t see the political issues at all. They are only satisfied with handling wage disputes and grievances for the workers and they are not speaking about advancing the interest of workers nationally in terms of economics, politics and the social make up of society.” Asked whether he believed that getting into the political fray will jeopardise their independence, Cabrera said: “Trade unions are separate from the political party.” President general of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget said Butler was responsible for all the gains that workers enjoy today. “The conditions today are similar to those which the Butlerite movement fought against in the 1930s and 40s but theirs was a fight against colonialism. Today that fight is still there but it is against those locals who have been put in charge. They have the same approach but it is worse now than before because we expect them to do better,” Roget said.
He called on his comrades to “pledge to carry on that tradition to set out social justice, equity and decent standard of living, not just for oil and cane workers but all of the people in T&T.” Joseph Remy, president general of Communication Workers Union (CWU) said some labour leaders may have to lose their lives to carry out Butler’s mission. “At the end of the day the sacrifice has to be made for us to ensure that we achieve social justice for the people,” he said. A New York trade union, 1199 Service Employee National Union, participated in the Labour Day celebrations in Fyzabad yesterday. Co-ordinator of the group, Deborah Sanders, said her group is a healthcare union with 345,000 members.