Guyana Labour Union
{{Short description|Trade Union in Guyana}}
The Guyana Labour Union is a trade union centre in Guyana, previously known as the British Guiana Labour Union.Alexander, Robert J., and Eldon M. Parker. [https://books.google.com/books?id=fCmTbz1XdMwC A History of Organized Labor in the English-Speaking West Indies]. Westport, CT [u.a.]: Praeger, 2004. 406
History
The BGLU was founded in 1919, emerging as a labour union amongst black dockworkers. Led by Hubert Critchlow. It soon expanded into a colony-wide labour movement.Whitten, Norman E., and Arlene Torres. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mB-r3L3PMNEC Blackness in Latin America and the Caribbean: Social Dynamics and Cultural Transformations. Blacks in the Diaspora]. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998, p. 148. BGLU was not the first trade union in the Caribbean, but was the first to be legally registered.Honychurch, Lennox. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xhXBl2vCP4UC The Caribbean People]. Surrey: Nelson Caribbean, 1995, p. 118.
By 1928 the organization claimed to have 1,073 members, of whom 341 were women.Labour and Socialist International. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bqElQQAACAAJ Kongress-Protokolle der Sozialistischen Arbeiter-Internationale - B. 3.1 Brüssel 1928]. Glashütten im Taunus: D. Auvermann, 1974, p. IV. 17. It was linked to the British Labour Party, and affiliated to the International Federation of Trade Unions and the Labour and Socialist International (1924–1940).Cudjoe, Selwyn Reginald. [https://books.google.com/books?id=su55RDS0XLgC Caribbean Visionary: A.R.F. Webber and the Making of the Guyanese Nation]. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009, p. 179. The organization did not struggle for national independence, but concentrated its campaigning on social matters and suffrage rights.Kowalski, Werner. [https://books.google.com/books?id=83QdPwAACAAJ Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923 - 19]. Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985, p. 288.
BGLU was joined by A. R. F. Webber.Cudjoe, [https://books.google.com/books?id=su55RDS0XLgC Caribbean Visionary], 2009, p. 5.
BGLU took the initiative for cooperation between trade unions in the Caribbean. At the 1926 BGLU convention, the British Guiana and West Indian Trade Union Confederation was founded. In 1945, BG&WITUC became the Caribbean Labour Congress.Mars, Perry. [https://books.google.com/books?id=c6-bHnj1eugC Ideology and Change: The Transformation of the Caribbean Left]. Kingston, Jam: The Press Univ. of the West Indies, 1998, p. 41.
Forbes Burnham (later the president of Guyana) became president of GLU in 1952, and served until 1956. Burnham again became GLU president 1963–1965.Jain, Prakash C. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MypXUmv4pZgC Racial Discrimination Against Overseas Indians: a class analysis]. New Delhi (India): Concept Publ. Co., 1990, p. 90. Desmond Hoyte, who also became president of the country, served as GLU honorary president in the 1980s.[http://countrystudies.us/guyana/61.htm "Guyana Table of Contents"], Guyana, Country Studies,
The Guyana Labour Union later became associated with the People's National Congress.Mars, Perry. [https://books.google.com/books?id=c6-bHnj1eugC Ideology and Change: The Transformation of the Caribbean Left]. Kingston, Jam: The Press Univ. of the West Indies, 1998, p. 99. Robert Williams is the general secretary of GLU.{{cite web |url=http://opnew.op.gov.gy/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=533%3Apresident-jagdeo-joins-hundreds-at-may-day-activities&Itemid=72. |title=President Jagdeo joins hundreds at May Day activities |website=opnew.op.gov.gy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721084759/http://opnew.op.gov.gy/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=533:president-jagdeo-joins-hundreds-at-may-day-activities&Itemid=72 |archive-date=2011-07-21}}