Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow

Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow (18 December 1884 – 14 May 1958) .He is notable as
the founder of the modern trade union movement in Guyana.

Critchlow was born in Georgetown, Guyana. Little is known of his early childhood
but in his late teens, after leaving school, he was a dock worker. At the age of 21,
he began his struggle for the interest of waterfront workers' wage negotiations
and rights.

Critchlow was a black man who was the origin of trade union activism in the
country. On November 28, 1905, he organized and led the dockworkers of
Sandbach Parker & Co. Ltd., another colonial conglomerate, on a strike to protest
deplorable working conditions. At a time of social unrest in the colony,
Critchlow's actions served to unite urban working-class and rural estate workers
against colonial officials and companies' management. Although the police on
that occasion fired into the crowd of marching workersCritchlow led, the next
year he organized a similar protest.

In 1917 and 1918 Critchlow was again at the helm of workers protesting for higher
wages. For this action, he lost his job and was unable to secure further waterfront
employment. On January 11, 1919, he formed the British Guiana Labour Union
(BGLU), the first of its kind in British Guiana. Its membership was approximately
13,000 in the early years, at a time when the population of the country was
estimated at 295,000. Critchlow served as general secretary of the union until his
resignation in 1952. From 1924 to 1932 Critchlow attended several labor and
workers conferences held in England, Germany, and Russia. Under his guidance
the BGLU initiated the British Guiana and West Indian Labour Congress, a
regional meeting of trade unionists.

Often referred to as 'The father of Trade Unions', Critchlow was the first man in
British Guiana to formalize labor negotiations.
On 2 December 1964 the president of Guyana at that time , Dr. Cheddi Jagan,
unveiled a bronze statue of Critchlow in the compound of the Parliament
Building.

Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow devoted his life to changing the harsh conditions
under which men were forced to work in those days. His work is especially
remembered on 1 May, which is designated as:

Labor Day
Workers' Day
May Day.

On this day, wreaths are laid at the base of Critchlow's statue by leaders of the
government and prominent trades unionists.

Critchlow's most significant accomplishments include the 1922 introduction of a

Rent Restriction Bill in the British Guiana Legislative Council. The bill's success
led to the designation of July 3, 1922, as "Critchlow Day." In 1923 Critchlow
supported petitions urging the colonial government to address increasing
unemployment and rising consumer prices in the colony. He also advocated the
introduction of national health insurance, old-age pensions, a girls' industrial
training school, and a children's court. In addition to waterfront workers,
Critchlow also demonstrated concern for domestics, nurses, carpenters, and
shop assistants, who worked for long hours at low wages. He was instrumental in
obtaining an eight-hour workday for dock and stevedore laborers and in the
passage of the Workmen's Compensation Act. Moreover, under his leadership the
BGLU demanded of the colonial administration the extension of the franchise to
women, universal adult suffrage, labor representation in the legislative council,
and self-government.

Critchlow served on the Discharged Prisoners Aid Committee, the Advisory

Committee to the Rent Assessor, Georgetown, the Ex-Servicemen Committee,
Poor Law and Local Government Boards, the Old Age Pensions Board, and the
Public Works Advisory Committee. When the first British Guiana Trade Union
Congress registered on April 8, 1941, Critchlow was the secretary. In 1943 he was
appointed the first labor representative in the British Guiana Legislative Council.
One year later, in 1944, he became the first labor leader appointed to the
executive council of the British Guiana legislature. He was a government nominee
to the Georgetown Town Council and also a member of the Arbitration Tribunal,
under Sir Clement Malone, which inquired into a wage dispute concerning
waterfront workers in Grenada, West Indies.

By December 1951 Critchlow was elected to the Legislative Council as a member

of the British Guiana Labour Party. In 1951 he was awarded the Order of the
British Empire (OBE). Critchlow influenced a new era in the country's history—the
coming of the trade union movement. For example, by 1931 the British Guiana
Workers League was formed and in 1937 the ManPower Citizens' Association was
founded. Tributes to his contributions in improving labor conditions and the lives
of workers include a statue of him on the lawns of the Public Buildings, the seat
of the country's government, and the establishment of the Critchlow Labour
College. Appropriately, the headquarters of the BGLU which was named
Critchlow House.