A reminder of the rights of workers

Workers’ Day—May 1, 2025—saw renewed mobilisation across the globe, as millions rallied for fair wages, decent working conditions, and the protection of labour rights. Workers demanded change in the face of deepening economic inequality and precarious employment conditions.

While Trinidad and Tobago did not see mass street demonstrations, the global call for worker dignity resonated with many locally, especially in the context of rising living costs, persistent underemployment, and the quiet struggles of both formal and informal workers.

Across continents, the demands were urgent and unified. In the US, over 250,000 protesters decried wealth inequality and worker exploitation under the banner of the ‘50501’ movement. In France and Germany, unions condemned austerity and anti-worker trade policies.

On April 19, 2025, Chiquita Brands International terminated approximately 5,000 workers in Panama following a three-week strike over proposed pension reforms. The mass layoff drew condemnation from labour movements and reignited debates about the rights of workers employed by multinational corporations.

The local labour environment has historically included strong union representation. However, the increasing reliance on short-term contracts and casual labour  has eroded job security for many.

The newly elected administration—led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar—has outlined several labour-related reforms in its 2025 campaign platform. These include a proposed increase in the minimum wage to TT$25 per hour, the introduction of a Universal Workers’ Protection Bill, and reforms to the pension and National Insurance System (NIS)  to stabilise long-term social safety nets.

Other proposals include re-establishing a National Productivity Council and offering tax incentives to companies that provide permanent contracts rather than casual employment. Public servants have also been promised salary adjustments and improved access to affordable housing and healthcare.

While these have been welcomed by some sectors, economists and watchdog groups continue to call for clear timelines and transparent implementation strategies.

The Catholic Church has long upheld the sanctity and dignity of labour. As early as 1891, Pope Leo XIII, in Rerum Novarum, emphasised the rights of workers to just wages, safe working conditions, and collective bargaining—principles still echoed in contemporary Church teaching.

Pope Francis, in his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti, critiqued modern economic systems that exploit workers and reduce them to mere instruments. He warned that:

“Once more we are being reminded that each individual is fully a person, and that all human rights must be promoted and protected. In our time, the sense of belonging to a single human family is fading… and the practical result is greater inequality and marginalization” (Fratelli Tutti, §23).

In Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II reflected deeply on the nature of work: “Work is a key, probably the essential key, to the whole social question” (§3).

Locally, the Catholic Church—through the Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) and the Archbishop’s Office—continues to advocate for economic justice, especially for the vulnerable. Parish communities are encouraged to engage in initiatives that support migrant workers, promote ethical employment, and uphold the rights of domestic workers—many of whom fall outside formal legal protections.

May Day 2025 was more than a day of commemoration—it served as a mirror held up to society. It asks whether the economy is truly working for the people, or whether the people are being worked to exhaustion for the benefit of the few.

As Pope Francis urges in Fratelli Tutti (§116): “The dignity of others is to be respected in all circumstances, not because that dignity is something we have invented or imagined, but because human beings possess an inherent worth transcending the things they do.”

The questions facing Trinidad and Tobago—how to lift wages, protect informal workers, ensure pension security, and guarantee fairness—are not just economic or political questions. They are, at their core, moral ones.