标签： Barbados

On the cusp of its 85th anniversary, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) has turned a ceremonial act into a powerful testament to its decades-long fight for working people, burying a symbolic time capsule at its Solidarity House headquarters that holds far more than just historical artifacts. Sealed during an official ceremony led by BWU General Secretary Toni Moore, the capsule carries a carefully crafted message of gratitude, collective resilience, and unwavering commitment to the union’s core mission that stretches across generations.

During the event, Moore reflected on the union’s 84-year journey, paying public tribute to the generations of rank-and-file members, elected officers, and visionary leaders whose dedication has kept the labour movement thriving through decades of economic upheaval, social change, and systemic challenge. The ceremony drew a cross-section of Barbados’ labour community, with attendees including former BWU General Secretary Sir Roy Trotman, Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union head Mary Redman, National Union of Public Workers General Secretary Richard Greene, and representatives from dozens of other labour organizations across the island.

As the union prepares to mark its 85th founding anniversary in October 2026, Moore used the gathering to extend heartfelt gratitude to every person who keeps the BWU’s mission active in workplaces across Barbados. “This time capsule holds gratitude to the shop stewards, the officers, the delegates, the members — everyone who keeps this movement alive and moving every single day,” she told the crowd.

Moore also took the opportunity to honor the trailblazing women who broke barriers to open the door for her historic appointment as the BWU’s first female general secretary, acknowledging the broad base of support that has sustained her leadership through 12 years of significant economic and social turbulence. “A leader is only as strong as those who stand with him or with her,” Moore said. “The past 12 years have been rough. The seas have been choppy, but the journey has been possible because I’m assured that I do not stand alone. To those who walk with me, those who supported me, those who challenged me… it is because of you… that we refuse to break. Instead, we continue to grow in strength.”

Far from being a mere symbolic archive of past achievements, Moore framed the capsule as a living message to future generations of BWU leadership, scheduled to be opened on the union’s 100th anniversary in 2041. “Today, as we shortly install this time capsule, we are planting more than memories. We are planting a message to the future,” she said, emphasizing that the BWU is “an institution that is built to last.” She stressed that the union’s foundational values — fairness, economic justice, and unwavering advocacy for working people — remain just as relevant today amid the rapid shifts reshaping global and local workplaces. “Our commitment to fairness and justice will always be non-negotiable and…the worker, always the worker, remains at the center of everything that we do.”

The BWU, Barbados’ oldest and most influential trade union, traces its origins to the widespread labour unrest that swept across the British West Indies in the 1930s, officially forming on October 4, 1941. From its early days, it has represented workers across nearly every sector of the Barbadian economy, from agriculture, transport, and tourism to manufacturing, public services, and media. It quickly emerged as a defining driving force behind Barbados’ social and economic transformation, working collaboratively with the country’s two major political parties at times, and challenging them when necessary to advance worker interests. Many of the parties’ most prominent leaders, including Moore herself — who serves as a backbench Member of Parliament for the ruling Barbados Labour Party — have roots in the union’s leadership.

In the decades following Barbados’ independence, the BWU grew into a mass-membership organization of tens of thousands of workers, earning a reputation for uncompromising, effective collective bargaining that delivered landmark gains for working people. The union secured transformative improvements to social security, expanded severance protections, and stronger employment safeguards that benefit all Barbadian workers today. In recent years, amid shifting labour market dynamics and changing political landscapes, overall union membership has declined, but the BWU has continued its advocacy against unfair workplace treatment. Most recently, it led the successful push for new legislation that bars companies found to have violated workers’ rights from receiving government public contracts.

Closing her remarks to the future BWU leaders who will unseal the capsule in 2041, Moore issued a call to continue strengthening the vital institution they will inherit, carrying forward the mission that has defined the BWU for nearly a century.

A Tuesday morning shooting in the Eden Lodge neighborhood of St. Michael, steps away from a local educational facility, has drawn fierce condemnation from the top leader of Barbados’ national parent-teacher association, who is sounding the alarm over the grave danger such violence poses to schoolchildren across the island.

Nicole Brathwaite, president of the Barbados National Council of Parent Teacher Associations (BNCPTA), denounced the violent incident in blunt terms, labeling it far more than a random tragedy—calling it fundamentally unacceptable to allow gun violence to creep so close to spaces dedicated to children’s learning. By the time the shooting occurred, Brathwaite noted, hundreds of local parents had already dropped their kids off for classes at the nearby school, putting innocent young lives directly in harm’s way.

“This is not just unfortunate, this is unacceptable,” Brathwaite stated in public comments following the incident, emphasizing that recurring acts of violence near educational institutions systematically erode the safe environment every child has a right to expect. No innocent student should have to navigate the threat of gun violence simply while attending classes, she added.

In the wake of the shooting, as law enforcement worked to secure the area and reunite students with their families safely, Brathwaite urged Barbadian parents to stay calm and coordinate closely with guidance issued by the Barbados Police Service throughout the response process.

Beyond the immediate response to this specific incident, the BNCPTA president issued a broader call to action for all Barbadian citizens: step up vigilance in local communities, and work collectively to push for systemic changes that will create safer neighborhoods for families and children. “Our children deserve nothing less,” Brathwaite said, cementing the parent-teacher body’s commitment to prioritizing student safety across the country.

Authorities in St Michael have opened a criminal investigation into a shooting that unfolded near a local educational facility on Sorrel Lane in Eden Lodge early Tuesday.

According to preliminary law enforcement updates, the incident took place at approximately 8:25 a.m., when an unidentified man was going about his activities in the area. A single attacker approached the man before opening fire, discharging multiple rounds toward the target. Facing the sudden attack, the targeted man managed to escape the scene unconfirmed whether he sustained any injuries as of the latest update.

To date, no additional details about the identity of the suspect, the potential motive for the attack, or the condition of the man who fled have been released by investigators. Law enforcement representatives confirmed that the case remains active, with officers working steadily to piece together the sequence of events and identify the person responsible.

In a public appeal issued following the incident, police are urging any member of the public who was in the Sorrel Lane area around the time of the shooting, witnessed the confrontation or gunfire, or has any other information that could advance the investigation to come forward. Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-8477, via the national police emergency line at 211, or directly to District ‘A’ Police Station through the phone numbers 430-7242 and 430-7246.

Just three days after Barbados law enforcement issued a public wanted notice for a suspect linked to serious criminal activity, the manhunt has come to a swift close. Derick David Rudolph Crawford, who was named in the Barbados Police Service’s (TBPS) ‘Wanted Man’ bulletin distributed to the public on Friday, January 6, is now in police custody, according to official updates from the service.

TBPS confirmed that officers took Crawford into detention on Monday, and the individual is currently cooperating with the investigative team by answering questions related to the outstanding serious criminal matters that first prompted the wanted alert.

In a statement following the arrest, law enforcement representatives extended formal gratitude to members of the local public and regional media outlets for their role in securing the suspect’s apprehension. The public’s sharing of the wanted bulletin and media coverage of the ongoing investigation played a key part in bringing the manhunt to a successful resolution, police noted.

A 35-year-old resident of Christ Church, Barbados, has been ordered into pre-trial detention at Dodds Prison following a court appearance on weapons and flight charges. Livardo Roghileo Hinds, whose address is listed as Durants, Lodge Road, made his first appearance before Magistrate Keitha Ellis at the District ‘B’ Magistrates’ Court this Monday.

Hinds faces three separate charges stemming from two separate time periods. The two most serious offenses relate to illegal possession of a firearm and an unspecified quantity of ammunition, which authorities allege occurred on April 28. Additionally, the defendant is accused of absconding – failing to appear for required legal check-ins or court mandates – on two separate dates: February 2 and March 12 of this year.

As the charges against Hinds are indictable offenses, meaning they are serious enough to warrant a trial by higher court, he was not required to enter a formal plea during this initial hearing. Following the brief proceedings, Magistrate Ellis ordered Hinds be held at Dodds Prison until his next scheduled appearance. The case has been adjourned until Friday, May 22, when Hinds will return to court for the next stage of the legal process.

One day ahead of the annual 11-Plus Common Entrance Examination, Barbados’ Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman has confirmed that all pre-examination preparations are fully finalized, with comprehensive monitoring arrangements in place to support the 2,767 registered students sitting this year’s assessment.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Blackman moved to reassure students, families and educators that every logistical detail had been locked in to deliver a smooth, low-disruption testing experience across all examination centres islandwide. Mobile monitoring teams will be deployed to visit testing sites throughout the day of the exam, and Blackman himself will kick off his on-site schedule at Deighton Griffith Secondary School to oversee the start of testing, before traveling to at least two additional secondary school centres to check on conditions and meet with examination officials as the session wraps up.

This year’s exam marks another step in the current administration’s timeline toward the eventual abolition of the 11-Plus assessment, a long-stated policy goal, but officials have focused their messaging on supporting the cohort of students already moving through the existing transition framework. In a marked shift away from high-stakes testing rhetoric, both Blackman and Chief Education Officer Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw emphasized that the examination is not a make-or-break judgment of a student’s ability, but simply a milestone marking the transition from primary to secondary education.

Addressing registered students directly, Blackman reframed the exam as an opportunity to showcase the work students have put in over their primary school careers, rather than a source of overwhelming stress. He encouraged young test-takers to enter their assigned centres without carrying unnecessary pressure, noting that success extends far beyond a single numerical score. “To the students themselves, tomorrow is your day. Tomorrow is your day to shine,” he said, adding that the entire ministry is proud of the work students have already completed to reach this point.

Blackman also highlighted that preparation for this year’s exam has been a years-long collective effort, crediting primary school teachers across Classes One through Three for laying the foundational academic skills students rely on, and thanking school principals and parents for their consistent, tireless support alongside senior year educators. “The journey to this moment was a collective effort… preparation for Tuesday began long before Class Four,” he told reporters.

Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw echoed this supportive, low-pressure messaging in her official statement, commending students for the months of hard work and perseverance they have invested in preparing for the exam. She echoed Blackman’s framing that the Common Entrance exam is only one chapter in a student’s broader academic journey, urging test-takers to approach the assessment with focus and confidence, and reminding them that a wide range of new opportunities await them in secondary school regardless of their result.

Like Blackman, Dr. Archer-Bradshaw also recognized the critical behind-the-scenes work that brought students to this point: she extended formal gratitude to the island’s educators for their unwavering commitment to their students’ growth, noting that their dedication leaves a permanent positive impact on young people’s long-term trajectories. She also emphasized the vital role that parents and guardians play in student success, thanking families for their ongoing support and encouraging them to maintain strong, collaborative partnerships with teachers as students move into the next phase of their education.

Compared to last year’s cohort, which saw 2,981 registered students, this year’s group is 214 students smaller, a shift that follows long-term demographic trends observed across Barbados’ education system. Still, all logistics have been adjusted to accommodate this year’s cohort, with no outstanding gaps in preparation reported by ministry officials ahead of testing day.