Human rights advocate to speak at Labour Day banquet

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11: September 5, 2011 will mark the 30th Anniversary of the celebration of Labour Day in Bermuda.  Trade unions in Bermuda are grateful to the late C. Eugene Cox, JP, MP, who as the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs in March 1982, piloted the amendment to the Public Holidays Act, 1947 which added Labour Day to the list of holidays that were included in the Act at that time. To this end, the theme of this year’s Labour Day is Sustaining Trade Unionism”.

According to the March 12, 1982 edition of the Workers Voice, it is reported that Mr. Cox said his amendment had called for Labour Day to be celebrated on the first Monday in May.  However, “members of the United Bermuda Party Government would not accept that date and presented their amendment to celebrate the holiday in September, the same day as the American Labour Day”.

To help celebrate this year’s Labour Day, the BIU has invited Lawrence Hamm, president of the People’s Organization for Progress based in Newark New Jersey to bring the keynote address at this year’s Annual Labour Day Banquet.  Mr. Hamm has been a relentless advocate for African-American people and the cause of human rights for more than thirty years. 

A graduate of Princeton University, Mr. Hamm distinguished himself during the anti-apartheid movement by organizing student protests and calling attention to Princeton’s financial investment in apartheid South Africa.  In 1986, Mr. Hamm traveled with Rev. Ben Chavis throughout the Deep South to retrace the route of the 1960s Freedom Rides. Chavis, Hamm and busloads of activists conducted voter registration drives in Alabama.

The Banquet will be held on Friday, September 2, 2011 at the Fairmont Southampton Resort & Spa.  Tickets for this year’s banquet remain at $100.00 each and are available at BIU Headquarters or by contacting Sister LaVerne Furbert at 292-0044 by e-mail at [email protected].

In addition to the Labour Day Banquet, the Joint Labour Day Committee has planned a host of events to take place on Labour Day beginning at 8:30am with the Annual Running Race, the Bermazing Race, and the Annual Labour Day March through the City of Hamilton followed by activities at Union Square. 

Also included in this year’s Labour Day Celebration will be a repeat of some of the Emancipation Day Celebration events.  Attendees should also expect to participate in discussions on the trade union movement in Bermuda, with speakers such as Brothers Ottie Simmons, Ira Philip and Collin Simmons.  Rev. Joseph Whalen will address the topic “Religion and Trade Unionism”.  The Labour Day activities will culminate with a performance by the Gombeys.