Joseph Pollydore dies
Stabroek News
February 27, 2003
Veteran trade unionist, Joseph Henry Pollydore OR, CCH, died peacefully around 2:30 am yesterday at the Medical Arts centre, e was 94.
Pollydore, who spent the greater part of his life - some 61-years - championing the cause of workers, had been admitted to the hospital two days earlier.
Remembering Pollydore yesterday at a special press briefing, fellow trade unionist, Leslie Melville said that Cde Pollydore as he preferred to be called, had served the movement with distinction during his tenure as General Secretary (GS) of first the Transport Workers Union and then the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC).
According to Melville, Pollydore, prior to his resignation from the General Secretary's post in February 1999, was without doubt the doyen of the local and Caribbean trade union movement.
His skill at the bargaining table Melville said, was well recognised, a talent leading to him being dubbed the "Caribbean Fox" by former Prime Minister and President, Forbes Burnham. Melville described the trade unionist as being like a skilled poker player, since it was always difficult to determine what his next move would be.
Pollydore was said like Critchlow, to have preferred to negotiate rather than agitate - a course of action which usually proved right.
Melville ended by saying that Pollydore had believed that the future of the country lay in the union of the two major political parties, and his presentation on behalf of the GTUC to the Constitution Commission of 1979, had attested to that. He was to report subsequently, said Melville, that "Not one iota of our recommendations were accepted."
Sharing the head table at yesterday's press conference in the boardroom of the GTUC, current General Secretary Lincoln Lewis said that Pollydore's life ought to be used as a catalyst for the younger leaders in the process of regrouping and taking the movement forward.
He saw the union stalwart's passing as a great loss to the movement, and he said that observances in his memory would see the movement mobilising members for specific activities as a fitting tribute to him.
With regard to the funeral arrangements, he stated that on the basis of preliminary discussions, Pollydore's body would lie in state in the auditorium at the Critchlow Labour College during which tributes and other messages would be received.
The movement he further said, was expecting colleagues from the region and other countries for the funeral, and the GTUC had already received several calls from overseas.
However, final decisions on the arrangements for the funeral would await the arrival of relatives from abroad.
Lewis did say, however, that the GTUC executive had made approaches to government to have Pollydore, an "icon of the labour movement," interred at the place of the Seven Ponds.
Lewis said that it was his dedication to the movement that had led to Pollydore being honoured at the 50th anniversary of the continental trade union movement (ORIT), a body of which he had been a founder member. He had also served at one time as its Vice President with much distinction,
Earlier GTUC President Carvil Duncan, in opening the press conference had described their meetings as not normal because of Pollydore's passing.
"The man who walked with Critchlow, the man who... spoke to presidents and opposition alike, spoke his mind, but at the same time gained their respect, the man who the world and the Caribbean referred to as the 'Caribbean Fox,' Joseph Pollydore is no more," Duncan said.
Pollydore who was born in Calcutta, Mahaicony, on November 8, 1908, had his early schooling in that community. According to Melville, he remained at heart a country boy, despite the fact that he spent the greater part of his life in Georgetown.
Coming from a farming area there were few opportunities for youths at that time, but he was fortunate to get a job at the Transport and Harbours Department as a clerk. He eventually rose to the level of chief stores' keeper.
He joined the Transport and Workers Union (TWU) in 1938, and came to prominence as a result of one of the more significant strikes in the country, seen as a turning point in trade unionism - the Teer strike of 1948.
General Manager Teer, who wanted to break up the TWU attempted to transfer its leaders to different parts of the country. A strike ensued, and as a consequence, the TWU emerged at that time as probably the most militant union in the country.
It was during this critical period that Pollydore was the union's general secretary charting its course.
Later, in 1962, he was elevated to the position of GS of the British Guiana Trades Union Council, assuming the mantle of its founder, Critchlow.
He continued in this post until his retirement in February 1999.
Among the awards received by Pollydore during his life were the Cacique Crown of Honour and the Order of Roraima for dedicated service to the labour movement.
He was also awarded Venezela's national award for trade unionism, for his contribution to the labour movement in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Meanwhile messages and tributes have begun to pour in following the passing of Pollydore. Minister of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Dr Dale Bisnauth described the veteran trade unionist as an indefatigable fighter in the workers' cause.
Reasonable, principled and courageous in that cause, he saw Pollydore as a difficult act to follow.
According to the minister, he had left a monumental legacy to trade unionism in Guyana and a void that would not easily be filled.
He expressed sympathies to his relatives and colleagues in the movement.
And the PNC in its condolence message to the family of the trade union leader and the movement said his passing had been received with mixed emotions. On the one hand, they said, death had ended any pain and suffering he might have had to endure with failing health and old age, and on the other, he was loved and revered by persons from all walks of life due to his commitment to the cause of the working people.
Permanent Secretary in the Public Service Ministry (PSM) Dr Nanda Gopaul described his passing as a sad day for the labour movement taking into consideration his contributions for over half a century.
According to Gopaul, his over 25-years of association with Brother Pollydore found him to be accommodating to differing views while always trying to work to bring people together rather than discuss issues in a spirit of animosity.
He acknowledged that like several union colleagues at one time he had joined in blaming him especially during the 1970s and 1980s for not effectively championing the rights of workers.
However, he pointed to the 1988 split in the union movement, and the formation of FITUG as a defining moment in Pollydore's life when he showed charisma, charm, dedication and commitment to unity by working tirelessly to bring the sides together.
It was his efforts to bring about reforms in the movement as was being requested by those who formed FITUG that allowed them to re-engage with the umbrella body, Gopaul said.
