At the 87th Annual Delegates’ Conference of the Antigua and Barbuda Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU) held at People’s Place on Nugent Avenue, Senator Angelica O’Donoghue delivered a keynote address on behalf of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, laying out a clear vision for the future of the nation’s labor movement. Her core call centers on a balanced approach: the union must expand its focus to support young workers navigating a shifting economic landscape, while never forgetting the foundational struggles and hard-won gains of past generations of labor organizers.
Speaking to the conference’s official theme, “Developing Stronger Workers, Stronger Future,” O’Donoghue emphasized that the global shift toward a tech-driven economy has created unprecedented new challenges for the labor sector. Breakthrough technologies including artificial intelligence, widespread workplace automation, the expanding digital economy, and rising cybersecurity demands are fundamentally reshaping what roles look like across nearly every industry, requiring new approaches to worker preparation. She argued that trade unions can no longer limit their mandate to traditional advocacy for worker rights and fair working conditions. To remain relevant and effective for current and future generations, unions must prioritize expanding access to targeted education, professional training, and upskilling opportunities that equip workers to compete in the modern labor market.
O’Donoghue specifically encouraged young workers to pursue in-demand qualifications spanning a wide range of high-growth fields, from technical and vocational certifications to advanced digital literacy, AI skills development, business management, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Each of these skill sets, she noted, will give workers the flexibility and resilience they need to adapt to ongoing economic and technological change.
Even as she pushed for modernization, O’Donoghue struck a firm note warning against erasing the labor movement’s history to make room for new priorities. “Modernization must never become amnesia,” she stated. She stressed that the rights and protections today’s workers take for granted were secured through decades of collective struggle by earlier generations of organizers, and that passing down this history to young workers is a non-negotiable responsibility for veteran movement leaders. Drawing a direct throughline from past organizers to current stakeholders, she told delegates, “We are because you were,” tying the modern identity of both the union and the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party to the sacrifices and work of those who came before.
During her remarks, O’Donoghue also offered public praise to key leaders of the nation’s labor movement, including AT&LU President Bernard de Nully, Ambassador Lionel “Max” Hurst, who serves as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister, and other longstanding union members for their decades of commitment to advancing worker interests.
Closing her address, O’Donoghue underscored the intergenerational responsibility that lies at the heart of a strong, sustainable labor movement. “I am because we are. We are because they were. And those who come after us will be, because of what we choose to do today,” she said, framing the choices made by current union leaders and members as a lasting legacy for future generations of Antiguan and Barbudan workers.