Dear Editor,
I would like to thank Mr Mohamed Khan (former trade unionist) for his short but informative letter ‘This year’s May Day was a disgrace to the founder of the local movement’ (SN, 3.5.08). I didn’t see any of the May Day parade out of Linden, except for the footage that was shown on the NCN television newscast. No doubt the trade union movement over the years has lost its sting and has virtually become a paper tiger, with the workers having scant regard for and little confidence in it. How ironic it is that in spite of the rapid surge in the cost of living, the strangling effect of VAT and the incessant moan from the ordinary working man, May Day rallies still fail to attract large gatherings of struggling workers. A ten-dollar black plastic bag holds $10,000 worth of rations under little strain, while the average worker’s take-home wage is $6,000 per week. Where Linden is concerned, the movement appears to be in its dying stage and may soon become a thing of the past. For some time now with the increasing popularity of the Linden Town week which coincides with the Labour Day event, we have been witnessing an almost complete overshadowing of the latter with only the customary symbolic march and a few hackneyed speech/messages from brother/sister unions to the faithful, beaten and weary inattentive and uninspired few. It doesn’t even appear to be properly planned for. The Labour Day significance has dissipated.
