On May 1, 2026 — International Labour Day — Guyana’s long-running, politically charged split in the national labour movement moved into the open once again, as the country’s two largest trade union federations publicly declared opposing allegiances less than a full election cycle away from a general vote.
The Federation of Independent Trades Unions of Guyana (FITUG), which organizes the largest bloc of unionized workers in the country, used its Labour Day gathering hosted on the lawns of State House to reaffirm its unwavering support for incumbent President Irfaan Ali and the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
Addressing attendees at the event, FITUG President Carville Duncan lauded Ali for his consistent pro-labor agenda and open working relationship with the country’s independent trade unions. Duncan emphasized that the collective size of the organized labour movement in Guyana exceeds the membership base of any single political party in the nation’s history, framing FITUG’s endorsement as a critical marker of political credibility.
“If we, like the doctor, say you dead; you dead and once we say you good, you good,” Duncan told the crowd, stressing the federation’s outsize influence on national electoral outcomes. He went on to note that Ali has worked directly with FITUG to help rank-and-file union members transition from traditional labor roles to small business entrepreneurship, a policy priority Duncan praised as forward-thinking. “Comrade Ali you’ve done well, Sir, and may you live longer to do better than you’re doing now because you have the workers who are with you,” Duncan said, adding that the federation would back Ali for another term should he choose to run for re-election.
FITUG’s member unions include several historically pro-PPP organizations: the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees, the Guyana Labour Union, and the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union.
In his remarks to the gathering, President Ali did not directly address the ongoing divisions within Guyana’s labour movement, instead focusing his speech on calls for broad national unity, echoing the pre-1955 cohesion that once defined the PPP before the party’s historic internal split. He urged attendees to reject divisive political tactics, including petty infighting on social media, and focus on the country’s ambitious long-term development.
“This not the moment where we play divisive games. This is not the moment when we run around to find spectacles of humour. This is not the moment when we are childish on social media and social media posts,” Ali said. “This is the moment when we embrace a much larger picture. This is a moment where we confront a future that is grand.” The President added that the PPP remains open to engagement with all Guyanese, and that the government is expanding individual empowerment through expanding home ownership, inclusive social programs, and broadened economic opportunity for all segments of society.
While FITUG has a well-documented history of open support for the PPP, the country’s other major union federation, the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), used its own separate Labour Day rally to call openly for the removal of the PPP from national office. GTUC President Norris Witter and Jinnah Rahman, an associate of the opposition-aligned We Invest in Nationhood movement, explicitly urged voters and union members to oust the incumbent government.
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, who also leads We Invest in Nationhood, and the parliamentary leader of the A Partnership for National Unity coalition, joined the GTUC event to urge the federation’s member unions to build organizational strength to oust the PPP-Civic coalition from power. Major GTUC affiliates include the Guyana Public Service Union, Guyana Teachers Union, Guyana Workers Union, the Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers, and a competing branch of the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union.