Antigua and Barbuda Workers' Union General Secretary David Massiah delivered a forceful Labour Day address Monday, accusing the government of abandoning the working class and allowing critical labour legislation to stall for over a decade. According to Antigua.news, Massiah used the annual rally to issue one of his sharpest public rebukes of the country's industrial relations record in recent memory.
"We are mindful that we continue to see a government that is not for the working class people of Antigua and Barbuda," Massiah told union members and supporters gathered for the Labour Day rally, drawing applause from sections of the crowd.
Central to his criticism was the prolonged delay in revising the country's Labour Code — a process he said has yielded no meaningful results in 15 years. "The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code has been revised and in revision for the last 15 years, and to date… has not seen the light of day," he said.
Massiah argued that the failure to modernize labour legislation has left workers exposed in a rapidly changing global workforce. He identified mental health, workplace stress, and progressive benefits such as maternity and paternity leave as areas requiring urgent legislative action.
"We need a new labour code that will reflect what is happening in the world of work today," he insisted. "Mental wellness and stress within this country is very important… new legislations must be put on board."
The veteran union leader also turned his attention to public sector negotiations, accusing successive administrations of undermining fair bargaining processes. "You have a government that continue year after year, election after election, make sure that they bastardize the negotiation process for the public sector," Massiah charged.
He called for a sweeping overhaul of public sector pay structures, arguing that outdated salary scales and inconsistent employment practices are failing workers across multiple professions. "It's not only just the policemen, not only just the nurses… but all public sector workers — they need to see a revision that will meet the test of times," he said.
Massiah also expressed concern over what he described as declining worker solidarity, urging employees to deepen their engagement with union advocacy and national labour issues. "This is the day that they have to give the solidarity… stand up and be counted," he said, stressing that Labour Day must remain a platform for collective action.
Positioning the ABWU as the "union of choice," Massiah reaffirmed the organisation's role as the primary defender of workers' rights in Antigua and Barbuda. "We are the union that have you at heart," he said.
His remarks signal a confrontational period ahead for labour relations, with renewed pressure likely to mount on policymakers to deliver long-promised reforms.
