Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller A special day for all Jamaicans
My fellow Jamaicans, on this very special Labour Day, I greet you in peace and love. This is a day of togetherness when we give freely of our time and effort, honouring our ancestors ... strengthening our communities.
It is a time to draw closer, as one people, one family, working shoulder to shoulder on community-building projects.
This Labour Day takes on added significance as we observe the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic trade in Africans.
Even by stretching the imagination to the limit, none of us today can truly understand the suffering of our African ancestors on that long, cramped and cold journey across the Middle Passage.
Acknowledgement
Today, we salute their work, courage and determination in the face of incredible hardships.
We must never forget their essential role in the development of our Jamaican identity.
Labour Day is a time to remember, with pride and gratitude, the great achievements of our workers.
In 1938, their struggles not only improved the lot of workers facing oppression under the colonial system, it also laid the foundation for the trade union movement and opened the door to political independence.
We now have the duty and privilege to continue the work to protect and advance the rights of workers. Serving the interest of workers goes far beyond what happens at the workplace. It now takes into account the general well-being of the worker and the worker's family.
This is the path on which we are moving, paying special attention to such critically important areas as affordable housing for working people and their families, education and health care.
As always, Labour Day is community centred and community focused. This is in keeping with our determined efforts to empower our communities and achieve sustainable development.
I encourage everyone to use this day and every opportunity to foster community spirit.
Let that spirit energise all our communities to become vibrant centres of activity for self-development and building community self-reliance.
Many persons are participating in the National Labour Day Project at the Bath Botanical Gardens in St. Thomas, which has the distinction of being the oldest botanical gardens in the Western Hemisphere.
Community projects
Many others will be involved in community projects. Some will choose to brighten Labour Day for an elderly relative or neighbour, or a retired person who can no longer move around.
Wherever you plan to be, country or town, I encourage you to get involved in a work project, and please remember to involve the children. Their enjoyment of teamwork is inspiring.
At evening time, when the work is over, join us for the National Labour Day Concert. Come and celebrate our culture with song, dance, music and poetry.
In the strong spirit of our great ancestors, from every ethnic strain, let Labour Day mark the beginning of a new enthusiasm and a stronger heart for serving this God-blessed country of ours.
- Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller
Recognising the true value of workers
Bruce Golding
Labour Day provides us with an opportunity and, indeed, imposes a duty on us to focus on the workers of Jamaica, their role in the development of Jamaica and the many struggles they have waged to secure the rights that we, as workers, enjoy today.
The workers' achievements go far beyond the bargaining table and the workplace for it was through their militant efforts that many of our fundamental rights were secured and our democratic system built.
Today, as we honour them - those who led the struggle in the past and those who continue in their stead today - we need not only to have a full appreciation of how far we have come and how we got here, but also where we still need to go and how far we are going to get there.
Workers' movement
In the changing world in which we live, the workers' movement is challenged to respond, to help to shape those changes where we can and to seek out those advantages to be gained where we can't. It is a challenge that is different from those we have confronted before. Yet, confronting those challenges has the same compelling necessity and ultimate objective as previous challenges: the improvement in the qualityof life of our workers.
Today, therefore, as we reflect on the past and, in keeping with the practice of the last 35 years, engage in worthwhile endeavour in our communities, let us also embrace, not ignore, the challenges that face us. The workers of Jamaica, with determination, a tenacious spirit and sound leadership, have triumphed in the past. We must ensure that we triumph in the future.
- Opposition Leader
Bruce Golding
