The time to act is now

EDITOR: There has been too much talking and not enough doing on matters that need to be addressed with issues facing workers. I am talking about the working conditions that workers generally have to undergo. Every so often, every government claims that they are the best for workers; yet, when one exams the records, all fall woefully short.{{more}} They think that money is the only remuneration that workers appreciate and can relate to. Thus, numerous changes that the International Labour Organization (ILO) and regional and international organizations and agencies have implemented on behalf of workers are yet to be ratified and practised here. And those that have been ratified are not followed or adhered to. The Labour Department is not adequately staffed to address the numerous issues workers are facing.

The workplaces are like battlegrounds, where various social issues are fought and aided and abetted by some in authority; hence, the time for talking is over and the time for action is now.

Workers need to have a greater appreciation of who they are as workers – from the domestic to the CEO. Even the vendors do not see themselves as workers in the truest sense. So, how do we engender people to appreciate what they are doing as workers? There is a need for more workers’ education. This should begin from the pre-school age to the time workers retire, because I do not believe we ever stop being workers, even after we formally retire.

If the public decides what society would be like, a lot of things may be quite different. We need to be cognizant of what takes place in the workplace, in our communities, our nation and the world. We need to advance our skills and knowledge and not be afraid to express ourselves in front of colleagues, family, friends, fellow trade unionists, employers, politicians, pastors, preachers and magistrates, and at the same time not be disrespectful, slanderous or biased. Every positive word counts. It cannot be left to somebody else. We each have our role to play if things are to change for the workers of SVG.

Man On De Go