Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur has expressed sympathy with Sir Roy Trotman’s disappointment at the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) being replaced by the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) as the worker delegate in the international arena.
Reacting to the BWU’s decision to split from the umbrella body and the social partnership partly because it no longer has the key delegate role at the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) annual conference in Geneva, Switzerland in June, Arthur told the DAILY NATION he fully understood Sir Roy’s view.
“We have to be careful how we throw out the things that have worked for us in the past. And in this instance, I understand Mr Trotman’s angst. I remember when I was invited to give a feature address at the ILO, it wasn’t because of being Prime Minister of Barbados, you know, but because Barbados had come to stand for something in the eyes of the ILO,” he said.
He added that Barbados owed much of its stability and international respect to the “handiwork” of the BWU.
“That is the truth, and I’m not picking a side. That is the reality and perhaps why Mr Trotman is saying it’s not about him going on a trip but it’s a tradition he has helped to develop.”
Stressing that the labour movement had largely been crafted by the leadership of the BWU, Arthur said the country had had several Prime Ministers and Governors General but only two main labour union leaders: National Hero Sir Frank Walcott and Sir Roy Trotman.
