Two Gov’t Buildings to Be Named in Tribute to Leaders Who Advocated for Jamaican Workers

Two Government buildings in the Corporate Area will be named in honour of modern-day leaders who have contributed to the welfare and upliftment of Jamaican workers, as part of Workers’ Week 2025 celebrations.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, made the announcement in a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday (May 6).

She informed that the National Insurance Building at National Heroes Circle will be named the Lynden Gladstone Newland Building, while the main building at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at 1F North Street will be named the Portia Simpson Miller Building.

The honourees served as Ministers of Labour in different Administrations during their political careers. The Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller went on to serve as Prime Minister.

“Both acts are in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the movement for the rights and proper working conditions of Jamaican workers,” Minister Grange said.

She further stated that tribute will be paid to those who sacrificed their lives to dismantle the oppressive systems inherited from the enslavement of our ancestors.

Ms. Grange said these include The Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe, who was martyred for his role in the first organised industrial action in Jamaica, when he and his followers refused to return to the horrible experience of forced labour on plantations in December 1831.

“It is instructive that we are able to recognise Sam Sharpe’s sacrifice for the workers of modern Jamaica by honouring him every National Labour Day with a wreath-laying ceremony, commemorating his execution on May 23, 1832,” she stated.

“This year, as we have been doing, we will rise early on the morning of Labour Day (May 23) to first pay homage at the National Heroes Park, while the Mayor of Montego Bay (Councillor Richard Vernon) will lead a team to the monument in Sam Sharpe Square for their wreath-laying tribute to Sam Sharpe and his warriors on whose shoulders we stand today,” the Minister added.

Meanwhile, the start of Workers’ Week and Labour Day 2025 on Sunday, May 18, coincides with the anniversary of the birth of late former Prime Minister and labour movement stalwart, the Most Hon. Hugh Lawson Shearer.

To this end, there will be a special floral tribute in his honour at National Heroes Park at 3.00 p.m. after the Workers’ Week and Labour Day Thanksgiving Service earlier that day at the Holiness Christian Church, Port Henderson Road, Portmore, St. Catherine, which starts at 9.30 a.m.

The focus for Workers’ Week and Labour Day 2025 is the environment. To this end, the theme will be ‘Protect the Environment: Our Land, Our Duty, Our Future’, and the slogan will be ‘Jamaica Nice, Protect Wi Paradise’.

Ms. Grange said the overall objective is to promote environmental awareness, encourage community involvement and inspire Jamaicans to act in protecting their environment.

“Throughout, our people will be encouraged to adopt sustainable practices in their daily lives through a conscious effort to keep their environment clean. The aim, ultimately, is to remind our people that protecting our natural resources and environment not only sustains Jamaica’s natural beauty, but also, and very significantly, contributes to public health and safety,” she stated.

The Minister further noted that the benefits to be derived from living and working in a healthy environment, include enhanced civic pride, improved community and workspaces and sustained property values.

“To this end, we welcome strategic partnerships with other Ministries, such as the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, agencies, Municipalities, civil societies, private-sector organisations, the Church and the business sector, children and the wider community,” Ms. Grange said.