Kenicia Francis
The opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) and the Antigua Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) have issued press releases condemning the actions of the central government for mounting “sustained attacks” against the union.
According to the release from the UPP, the party is standing in solidarity with the ABWU and condemns Prime Minister Gaston Browne for “the most recent assault – his second clear attempt at the despicable act called “union busting” – goes against the grain of decency, respect for workers, and statesmanship expected of the head of a party whose roots are grounded in the Labour Movement.
“In a continued show of disrespect, PM Browne used the occasion of Labour Day – a day that has always been held sacred for workers – to lambast the Workers’ Union in a naked attempt to undermine the confidence of its membership.”
“His other efforts to do so, including base and baseless allegations about the illegal use of dues and charges of poor representation, actually do more to discredit himself as a leader than hurt the Union. After all, the Workers’ Union has a long record of achievements on which to stand, which is more than the Browne Administration can say.
However, this latest move – encouraging hotel workers to establish their own union – coupled with the inducement of Crown land for housing hits a new low,” it added.
The UPP also accused the government of hijacking from the ABWU’s the Antigua Barbuda Hotels & Tourist Association’s plans for a housing project, calling the act “despicable and reeks of political quid pro quo”.
The United Progressive Party reminds the hotel workers of their treatment by Prime Minister Browne and his Administration during the Covid-19 pandemic; the disappointing decision to set the minimum wage at a mere $9, while knowing their intention to increase the ABST and other taxes; and their mistreatment of the former LIAT (1974) workers who are still languishing for their severance and other benefits more than four years after they were sent home.
Meanwhile, according to a press release from Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) civil society groups are calling out the UN event for excluding Barbudans while platforming the developers who are destroying their island. GLAN together with local partner, the Barbuda Land Rights and Resources Committee (BLRRC) are raising serious concerns regarding the lack of grassroots and local representation specifically of Barbudan land defenders and the Barbuda Council.
“At the same time, billionaire JP Dejoria whose company Peace Love Happiness (PLH) is building a golf resort over Barbuda’s internationally listed wetland is appearing at events in the company of Prime Minister Gaston Browne,” the release said.
“These destructive developments make this low-lying island more vulnerable to climate change and have already attracted widespread international criticism from UN experts who have written both to Dejoria and Browne raising issues with the PLH project on human rights grounds. Rather than being at the table where decisions are made, Barbudans’ only option is to raise awareness of the ecological and climate crisis on Barbuda outside the event.”
It added that Barbuda, the smaller island of the twin-island nation, has seen developers flood in to acquire large stretches of land in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in 2017. Since this time islanders have seen their southern and western coastline captured, land defenders have been arrested and experienced widespread environmental harms. The conference is set to feature two sessions hosted by scientist Deborah Brosnan whose company provided Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) that enabled many of the unsustainable developments on Barbuda to proceed. The EIAs greenlighted the PLH project, a luxury residential enclave which has been heavily criticized for destroying Barbuda’s wetlands, cutting off local beach access and colluding with central government to dismantle the communal land ownership on Barbuda so that they can sell villas to global elites. Experts from the science team as Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (eLaw) reviewed Brosnan & Associates’ EIAs and concluded that they are superficial and inadequate,” GLAN said.
Meanwhile, Tom Goreau PhD, President of the Global Coral Reef Alliance said, “This is the first SIDS conference I am not attending as there will be no venue for serious discussion of global climate change solutions. It is regrettable that UNSIDS will not address the global coral reef extinction crisis, the existential urgency of regrowing coastal ecosystems like coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses through community-managed ecosystem regeneration and sustainable mariculture, sea level rise adaptation, or the delicate ecosystems on Barbuda that are imminently threatened. Barbuda is the last large pristine island in the Caribbean, and requires the strongest protection and management as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not to be trashed by irresponsible mega-yacht marinas, golf courses, and sewage that have destroyed the natural resources and fisheries of all other Caribbean islands.”
YaYa Marin Coleman chairperson of the United Black Association for Development Educational Foundation (UEF), Belize who travelled to show solidarity to Barbudan land defenders said that SIDS has been co-opted by European ways of domination of natural resources for profit by the predatory class inclusive of some of our skin folks who are not our kinfolks. It is not the only world possible.
“Barbudans are living examples of what it means to live communally as Afrikan Descendants racialised as Black People and are willing to collectively defend their land struggle as Barbudan Land Defenders,” she said.
Sarah O’Malley, a lawyer at GLAN remarked that developers who are instrumental in the destruction and privatisation of Barbuda are leveraging the SIDS conference to their advantage, while Barbudans are excluded.
“This serves as a potent symbol of a broader global issue where Indigenous and Tribal communities who can best protect the planet remain marginalized while capitalistic, extractivist narratives from powerful Global North actors are platformed within international fora,” she added.
