Labour Day will be cel­e­brat­ed on Sun­day. As has been the case for the past few decades, the trade union move­ment (OW­TU, NATUC, etc) will be con­verg­ing at Char­lie King Junc­tion in Fyz­abad.

Again, Adri­an Co­la Rien­zi (Kr­ish­na De­onar­ine,1905-1972) will not be ho­n­oured.

Rien­zi was the founder of both the Oil­fields Work­ers Trade Union (OW­TU) and the All Trinidad Sug­ar Es­tates and Fac­to­ry Work­ers Union (AT­SE­FWU), and was in­volved in the es­tab­lish­ment of three oth­er trade unions. In­stead, on­ly Tubal Uri­ah "Buzz" But­ler will be cel­e­brat­ed by An­cel Ro­get and oth­er trade union­ists.

Rien­zi's name has nev­er been ut­tered. How­ev­er, there will be the reg­u­lar wreath-lay­ing cer­e­mo­ny at the grave of But­ler, the But­ler Clas­sics races, and a re-en­act­ment in But­ler's ho­n­our.

His­to­ri­an Michael An­tho­ny wrote, "One of the most re­mark­able of the un­sung he­roes of T&T was Adri­an Co­la Rien­zi...the con­tri­bu­tion of Uri­ah But­ler is enor­mous...it will al­so be true to say that with­out the in­ter­ven­tion of Rien­zi, the role which But­ler played would have been null and void."

Farah Ali,

Freeport