Belco Riots 60th anniversary: ‘Never to be forgotten’
A workers demonstration that erupted into a violent showdown with police outside Belco headquarters was commemorated yesterday as a 60-year landmark in Bermuda’s history.
Speakers from both sides of the clash, in which officers and striking workers were injured — some severely — marked a turning point for the island as well as trade union history.
A gathering outside the power plant looked back on the bloody events of February 2, 1965, which became known as the Belco Riots.
Attendees referred to it variously as an uprising, strike or an incident rather than a “riot”.
Chris Furbert, president of the Bermuda Industrial Union, said: “We have different definitions of what happened in 1965, but certainly ‘lest we forget’ was a phrase that has become relatable to Belco. It shall never be forgotten.
“There were dramatic changes to the social, economic and political environment of Bermuda as a direct result of the Belco strike.”
Mr Furbert described how, in January 1965, 97 Belco line workers seeking union recognition had their application rejected by the power company’s management.
The company tried instead to dilute the ballot with all 231 employees taking part, requiring that 60 per cent voted in favour before Belco would agree — a move guaranteed to block unionisation.
The BIU rejected the deal and its electrical division voted for a strike.
On January 19, picket lines were set up at the gates of the company headquarters on Serpentine Road in Pembroke — the site where open violence would eventually break out.
As the strike continued and the company increased pressure on demonstrators to go back to the job, tensions rose, and confrontations began between workers and police.
After a meeting at Devonshire Recreation Club, the strikers agreed that on February 2, no one would be allowed to cross the picket line to enter Belco.
On that day, picketers were joined by hundreds of supporters, some of them armed.
Police in riot gear arrived and the confrontation quickly escalated into a vicious brawl.
Among the casualties was Pc Ian Davies, beaten almost to death at the Belco gates.
Four demonstrators were jailed, described by Mr Furbert as “political prisoners” — George DeSilva, Vivian Ming, Kenneth Paul and Kerwin Ratteray.
Their family members were among the crowd at the commemoration.
Former officer Andrew Bermingham, a young officer who had been on the island just eight months, was caught up in the turmoil but broke free and joined those who rushed to Mr Davies’s aid.
Mr Bermingham said the anniversary was “an emotional, poignant day for me”.
“The message I want to bring this morning is one of unity and progress,” he said. “Over the years I got to know members of the BIU very well. I have always been very welcome there.”
Mr Bermingham called it “a game-changer for Bermuda”, marked by the words “reconciliation, negotiation and harmony”.
He added: “If Bermuda can live up to three words, we will be in a better place.”
Activist Glenn Fubler remembered being a 15-year-old student at The Berkeley Institute that day.
“We came out for recess and we could smell teargas in the air,” Mr Fubler said.
He recalled going to Devonshire Rec with his friends after school and finding hundreds assembled there, many armed, with weapons including pipes and machetes.
Mr Fubler said: “We got the sense they thought there was going to be an invasion of Devonshire Rec by police.
“It didn’t happen. That tension diminished because the community was rallying together.”
Mr Fubler said the lesson from the Belco Riots fit with the company’s purpose: “Keep the lights on”.
He added: “We know there’s a lot of darkness around here because we’ve allowed the light to fade. We have to keep the lights on in our hearts.”
The Electricity Supply Trade Union was formed from the Belco Riots and the negotiations that followed.
Kevin Pilgrim, the ESTU president, said the day was “an uprising of workers, families and neighbours who fought together not by choice but by necessity”.
“It was not just about a moment of anger, but years of neglect, exploitation and injustice,” Mr Pilgrim said. “Workers were pushed to their limits by a system that prioritised its own over people.”
He added: “If history has taught us anything, it’s that we are strongest when we remember where we came from.”
• To read Belco’s statement on February 2, 1965, see Related Media
You must be Registered or to post comment or to vote.
