“Greetings
on this International Day of Youth
On this day that speaks to the importance of the youth in the world, we should not take it lightly, and we must realise how important we are in this race of life.
The
importance of the role of youth has not been missed, and on more than one occasion our voices have been key factors in getting issues dealt with. At present a number of trade unions are trying to put things in place to encourage growth in youth membership to stem declines in membership. Let us be frank. The trade union movement is not like it was a few decades ago when it was more energised.
Youth today have a lot more things to distract them and some see the trade
union movement as archaic and not at all attractive to deal with their
needs.
Seeing this
development, I along with two Sisters are working diligently on a set of recommendations
for Trade Union Renewal in the Caribbean. - task that some would not have easily or
readily left in the hands of three young trade union members. We however see
this as a visionary step by those who realise and recognise that the input of
the youth factor is key in any reforms that the trade union movement currently
needs. We have done a lot of work. But more still needs to be done and upon
completion we expect it to be available to every trade union across the
Caribbean and even further afield.
I however
ask that you too look inside yourselves and your organisations and think about
and examine strategies that can aid in the reform of trade unions so that we
can be better equipped to deal with the
changing times.”
Shamir Brown
Delegate - Jamaica
Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO)
“Youth are dynamic, and our enthusiasm is
contagious. We are longing to be
involved in the trade union movement, in our way, using our methods of communication,
speaking our language, at our pace....
And union
leaders, must recognise that in order to hope for and envision a future trade
union movement, they must embrace the involvement of young people now. And not
just embrace it, but utilise it, nurture
it, so that young people can grow and impact on other young people.”
Janel Joseph
Central
Executive committee member - St Lucia National Workers’ Union (SLNWU)
