“Respect the cause, honour Sir Frank.”
So says former General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Sir Roy Trotman, as he recalled the life and times of National Hero the Right Excellent Sir Frank Walcott, recently. He shared his thoughts during a renaming ceremony of the BWU Labour College in Mangrove, St. Philip, to the Frank Walcott Labour College, where he told those invited that the “vibrant chords struck by Sir Frank still echo down the corridors of time.”
“Today as we reflect on the strains on those chords. We are grateful that we are still minded to respond to the call that says, ‘come over to Macedonia to help us.’ The call of the underprivileged, the vulnerable, those without a champion.”
Sir Roy noted that his predecessor and others of his time responded to that call. “The call to reach out and to reach all the way down, to lift up, to be friendly, and where necessary to fight to accomplish those objectives. To fight, not fearing the strength of the enemy, but to fight believing in the strength of the cause, and that justice will prevail over all else. Also, to fight not from eight to four; to fight not just as a distant do-gooder, but as one leader among all,” he said.
He expliained that Sir Frank was aware that good trade unionists at times have to make cruel choices to save the most vulnerable. “Sir Frank was very careful to teach us that lesson... How to make the next step on the ladder stronger than the one
behind.”
The former general secretary also pointed to the emphasis placed on working as a team. “ We were always made to recognise that we may have individual differences within organisations, but at the end of the day it is the team that must prevail, and it is the prevailing philosophy of the executive council that must be the order of our actions and where today we still follow in those footsteps. We follow along a pathway that was set by a master,” he said.
Sir Roy told specially invited guests that Sir Frank taught the importance of loyalty and that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
He said given the timelessness of the cause of the trade union movement, members are being called to rally around the trade union movement, including the work, teachings and advice of Sir Frank. “Rally around the leadership of the BWU,” he urged. (JH)
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