Africa-Press – Mauritius. In ancient Greek mythology, Sysyphus was condemned for eternity to push a boulder uphill, only to see it roll down again. The efforts of the working class in fighting capitalism look very much like the labour of Sysyphus.
The working class has a vast reservoir of strength and resilience to pursue the struggle to fight for its rights and for a better and just society. The country’s workers will celebrate May Day next Monday, and it is worth recalling the early efforts of workers to set up the first trade union in Mauritius in 1921 which we associate with Willy Moutou.
It is well known that ever since Mauritius was settled during the Dutch period in the 17th century, slaves had resorted to all kinds of struggles to fight oppression and protect their rights.
The struggles continued during the French and British periods by both slaves and indentured labourers. Today with increasing job insecurity, stressful workplace environment, contract employment and growing inequality, workers are realizing that they are not getting any better but even worse.
The workers in the 1920s found themselves in a similar situation. There was a sugar boom as a result of rising sugar prices and there was so much wealth in the country that the President of the Chamber of Agriculture could say they did not know what to do with so much money in their hands.
Yet the workers, who were still in a better position compared to the mass of labourers, found that their situation had so worsened that they even had to go on strike in 1920.
The situation got worse in 1921 with the defeat of the retrocessionist candidates particularly Dr Maurice Cure and Dr Edgar Laurent in Port-Louis. It was in that same year that the first trade union was founded by Willy Moutou and his friends.
At the end of January 1921, Michel Georges and Willy Moutou went to see Dr Edgar Laurent to obtain his advice and support for the creation of a trade union and to lead the movement. Dr Laurent raised the matter with Arthur Rohan and invited a few workers on a Sunday to discuss the matter further.
Arthur Rohan explained that strikes were not allowed in Mauritius and the main aim of setting up a trade union was to protect the interests of workers; they had the least intention to organize a strike.
With the objectives of the union clearly stated, a workers’ meeting was scheduled. The meeting was held on 6th March 1921 in the Town Hall and was attended by 60 workers. It was a short meeting lasting about 20 minutes.
It was reiterated that the organisation had no political objectives, and a provisional bureau was elected with Willy Moutou as general Secretary, and Arthur Rohan as General Treasurer for the different branches. On 19th March, a communiqué entitled ‘Un Appel aux classes laborieuses de Maurice’ appeared in newspapers.
Meanwhile Dr Laurent had been working on ideas of how he could help the workers and he had written to Arthur George Bottomley, a British Labour politician, who passed on the information to Arthur Henderson, the leader of the British Labour Party.
Henderson wrote to Dr Laurent sending some literature on how to go about setting up the union, and even suggested the creation of a political organisation. He also forwarded a template for the setting up of a trade union. Henderson wrote:
‘I think that members of the colony may be interested in organizing themselves on a political and industrial basis, and so accordingly I am sending you under separate cover a representative sample of our literature with explanatory notes on the constitution and organisation of the party.’
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