May 1st is known as “Workers Day”, recently called “May Day”. Any way you take it, the workers of this country MUST be recognized for whatever contribution they make to the country. This is no longer a man’s world, and the stage will be shared with women from every corner in the country and around the world.

From the stay home mother, the farmer, labourer, politician, healthcare provider, police officer, prison officer that so often go unnoticed, the executive officer and the list can go on and on. Women have been playing a very important role in our society and today is that time for them to be recognized for their hard work.

I want to mention a few women that are no longer with us today and first I mention my mother and thank her for raising us under hard circumstances. You are no longer with us, but your memories will never fade. I talk of “Mammy” Joshua the mother, farmer and politician who was the only female voice in a male-dominated and controlled sector. I speak of the Parliament of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The first woman to hold the office of Attorney General Judith Jones-Morgan and the longest holder of the office. Dame Hilda Bynoe the first female holder of Governor in the Caribbean and the Island of Grenada. Yes, a Bynoe from the family in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The many women that served our Police department and civil service. How can I forget the Reverend Mother Blucher, Mother Sandy of Georgetown, Reverend Cathrine Myers of Redemption Sharpes, Mrs Daniel of Streams of Power, a former teacher and politician Yvonne Francis-Gibson? Many powerful women and the list can go on for pages with a never-ending.

I say to all workers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines HAPPY LABOUR DAY

Sir Godfrey Gregg