A Labour Day statement from Craig Cannonier, leader of the One Bermuda Alliance.

Monday marks one of the most important days in Bermuda’s calendar – Labour Day.

The One Bermuda Alliance has always supported the labour movement and will continue to do so.

Leaders like Ottiwell Simmons were instrumental in building a stronger Bermuda and enhancing and protecting workers’ rights which today we take for granted.

I, and the OBA, believe that no matter the role a person plays in the workforce that it is important to the sustaining of healthy families.

Our party has members from all walks of life whose lives are better because of the labour movement. My own family came from a working-class background in St David’s and Bailey’s Bay.

We have supported initiatives like a living wage through a bipartisan parliamentary committee. When we were the Government, we supported labour by refusing to make redundancies even though we were under enormous pressure to do so.

We negotiated 10% off prices on Wednesdays with the grocery stores. The OBA increased Bermudian employment and introduced minimum expected standards in a number of working-class job categories to protect Bermudian workers.

We implemented the Jobs Board and we created huge opportunities for Bermudian workers at the airport, the Loren, the St Regis, the Azure, and yes, the America’s Cup.

These projects supported – and will continue to support - Bermudians and their families, especially in the blue-collar sector.

Lastly, I want to take this opportunity to say how grateful I and the OBA were for the shared sacrifice of our brothers and sisters during our time in Government.

It was their sacrifice that began the slow process of helping a sick economy begin to get better. Thank you.