Centenary observance of regional labour conference (Pt 1)

Dear Editor,
On April 6, 1919, a meeting was held at the Unique Friendly Society on Regent Street, where Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow proposed a resolution to establish a labour union. This was approved.
Two representatives of Bookers were also invited, and from them came the suggestion for the formation of an industrial council for settling disputes between the dockers and the Water Street employers. The three-man council met shortly afterwards and recommended the eight-hour day and certain wage increases.
The dockers’ protest sparked the formation of an organisation that extended past their own concerns. According to a letter published in the Argosy, the worldwide unrest among workers following the war – often covered by the Guyanese media – inevitably impacted the Guyanese working class.
The surge in membership requests for the BGLU reflected widespread revolutionary sentiment among workers nationwide.
In April 1919, Victoria (East Coast Demerara) approved the establishment of a local labour union branch. They followed suit; these were typical examples of the movement that led to the quick formation of a nationwide workers’ organisation.
All labour sectors participated, including tradesmen. The first President, M Hosanah, was a tailor, and membership even extended to residents of the Alms House and Old People’s Home, who were allowed to join the union.
The union originated as a friendly and burial society, connecting itself to one of Guyana’s oldest social structures, known to the general population.
The BGLU engaged in frequent industrial actions, with numerous strikes and disputes in late 1919 and 1920 affecting sectors such as railways, the electric company, sawmills, sugar estates, the Argosy, and the docks.
Manual workers’ efforts were strong enough to secure benefits for Water Street clerks, despite the clerks’ lack of genuine support for the movement.
The inaugural annual general meeting in 1920 faced significant challenges, leading to a period in which the union was at risk of dissolution.
Although membership declined sharply from its highest point of 13,000 to only a few hundred, the union continued to operate as an advocacy group.
By 1923, the delegates attending the general conference could reflect on several years of meaningful progress.
One union campaign had led to the passage of a rent restriction bill early in 1922. In January 1923, rumours circulated that the Rent Act might soon be repealed, prompting the workers to get ready to renew their struggle should it become necessary.
The workers showed they intended to use the union for more than just wage negotiations.
A 1923 conference resolution proposed creating a voluntary group to advise against unnecessary court cases that could be resolved privately.
A primary issue was unemployment, prompting the organisation of a petition.
The BGLU’s boldest action was organising the inaugural West Indian Conference in 1920.
Only the Trinidad Working Men’s Association was able to send representatives; although other territories indicated their willingness to participate, they were unable to attend.
The opportunity to form a unified West Indian labour movement was missed, although Guyanese workers closely followed events in Trinidad.
The Guyanese masses experienced a nationwide awakening, not just among urban workers in Georgetown.
The BGLU supported plantation labourers, but manager resistance restricted union activity on plantations.
Most East Indian labourers raised their concerns with Crosby and the Immigration Department, often seeking assistance from prominent Indian lawyers.
The arrangement required active involvement; Crosby and the Indian lawyers regularly met with large groups from plantations or areas experiencing grievances in Georgetown.
The entire plantation workforce frequently departed together, as occurred in 1917 and again in 1924 when workers from Ruimveldt left.
During the second event, rural and urban initiatives worked together with an inspiring sense of unity.
Four thousand Indians and Negroes started to march on Georgetown with flags, sticks, and their tools – some to meet Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow at the BGLU office and others to the Immigration Department to complain about irregular wages.
In addition to forming the labour union, rural peasants initiated efforts to address mass welfare issues.
The chairman of the Victoria Institute remarked in April 1919 that “Georgetown looks to the East Coast to decide its political matters”, and the facts did bear out this situation.
The rural proletariat and peasantry used credit banks and agricultural societies as tools in their struggle, with village councils and chairmen’s conferences serving as platforms to voice their collective resolve against the planter class.
In February 1919, the attorney general alleged that A A Thorne, a workers’ representative in the Combined Court, sought to establish a group of Bolsheviks in a village under the leadership of the village chairman.
The West Bank Agricultural Society’s chairman responded that the Attorney General had used a Russian term and clarified that the issue concerned capital and labour, labour being represented by the Farmers’ Conference and the Village Chairman’s Conference.
The Regional Labour Movement is marking a significant milestone by commemorating the 100th anniversary of its Regional Labour Conference.

Sincerely,
Sherwood Clarke
General Secretary
CCWU