Senator Angelica O’Donoghue has called on the Antigua and Barbuda Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU) to strengthen its focus on young workers while preserving the history and achievements of the country’s labour movement.

O’Donoghue delivered the message during the union’s 87th Annual Delegates’ Conference at the People’s Place on Nugent Avenue, where she spoke on behalf of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party.

Addressing the conference theme,

“Developing Stronger Workers, Stronger Future,”

O’Donoghue said the labour movement must prepare workers for a rapidly changing economy while ensuring younger generations understand the struggles that produced many of the rights they enjoy today.

“We are because you were,” she told delegates, linking the modern union and Labour Party to the generations of workers who came before them.

O’Donoghue said technological changes, including artificial intelligence, automation, the digital economy and cybersecurity, are reshaping workplaces and creating new demands for workers.

She urged trade unions to expand their traditional role beyond defending workers’ rights to include greater emphasis on education, training and skills development.

The senator encouraged workers to pursue technical and vocational qualifications, digital skills, artificial intelligence training, management and entrepreneurship, as well as financial literacy.

She also warned that modernization should not result in the labour movement losing its history.

“Modernization must never become amnesia,” O’Donoghue said, arguing that older generations have a responsibility to teach younger people about the struggles that helped secure workers’ rights.

Looking ahead to the AT&LU’s centenary in 2039, she challenged delegates to consider what future workers would say about the stewardship of the current generation, particularly its preparedness for change and its efforts to create opportunities for women and young people.

O’Donoghue also praised AT&LU President Bernard de Nully, Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister Ambassador Lionel “Max” Hurst and other longstanding members of the labour movement.

She closed by stressing that each generation carries responsibility for maintaining and strengthening the movement for those who follow.

“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.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Senator O’Donoghue Urges AT&LU to Prepare Young Workers for Changing Labour Market.