Whenever NWU officials were seen in Vieux Fort they were heckled and asked to leave Vieux Fort. This situation got so bad that NWU Mobilisation Team had to travel on Billy Bee, a Rambally bus that took passengers from Castries at about 4.00 a.m. down to Vieux Fort and returned to Castries by about 1.00 a.m. We found this to be a more secure method of going down to Vieux Fort and back.
During the seventies, employees of Chase Manhattan Bank decided to move towards trade union representation. They joined the Seamen, Waterfront & General Workers Trade Union (SWGWTU). Hilford Deterville was the President of the Union and Mrs. Greenidge, a long time friend of his who worked with Chase Manhattan Bank undertook the mobilization work. The Union was forced to close down Chase Manhattan Bank over a matter of trade union recognition. The SWGWTU lost the battle.
The challenges we face are unprecedented and cannot be addressed by quick fixes. They will also not be overcome by rhetoric or intransigence. They will only yield to:
- principled and collective action;
This National Workers Union is, by any measure, a progressive, dynamic and vibrant twenty-first century organization, fully committed to the service of its members. The strength of any organization, however, is dependent on the quality of its leadership. Let me, therefore, recognize the able and proven leadership of President General Tyrone Maynard. President Maynard, I have a special “Thank you” for you.
Member of the Secondary Schools Teachers Association (SSTA). He was a good theologian and biology teacher. He also had a passion for the Social Teachings of the Church.
