Homegoing Service for
Pat Bain
President
National Congress of Trade Unions

1st December, 2006
 

Yesterday, I rose to praise Sir Clifford Darling as one who has lived a full life during the course of which, he made mighty and powerful contributions as a trade union leader.

Today, regrettably, I rise yet again; this time however, to praise – in death – Pat Bain, another trade union leader who has not led as a full a life; whose longevity of service to his country has been cut short, but yet one who has also contributed powerfully to trade unionism and to the development of this country.

When we buried the noted trade union leader T.C. Symonette, I said then to trade union leaders that they must tell their stories and move quickly to ensure that we do not cheat our country out of the enriching tales of sacrifice and courage; the many defining moments and experiences they had to share, by our own failure to record our exploits for the purposes of history.

I seize this opportunity once more to speak of the compelling urgency to tell the story of the great trade union leaders of our time and of the movement itself, which together amount to a priceless legacy.

That legacy should secure a hallowed place for trade unions and their leaders in the story of the establishment of the modern Bahamas, and Pat Bain was one such leader.

During my own illness, Pat Bain came to my home on a number of occasions to ensure that my recovery was going well.

Even as he sat by my bedside, he himself was facing the most daunting of illnesses with awesome courage and an indomitable spirit with which he lifted his ailing body to the challenge of elections one more time; with shoulders held high and a purposeful stride – handling the pain and fatigue.

This is a sad moment in the life of Bahamian trade unionism.

A bright light has gone out.

A vibrant spirit has been extinguished.

What makes the moment sadder still is that this light; this spirit, has dimmed and died before its time.

Pat Bain represented the bridge between the past and the present in the evolution of industrial relations in our country.

He brought to the bargaining table a new and compelling ethos and a new arsenal of weapons to advance the cause of the workers of our land.

He believed deeply that the best way forward was to be found in the power of reason; persuasion by the application of reason.

Persuasion by the use of rational argument was the hallmark of his trade union philosophy and diplomacy.

Many labour leaders before him had clung to the belief that battles with employers could only be won by the banging of fists on tables or the stomping of angry feet or the calling of wildcat strikes.

Pat Bain on the other hand, became the leading exponent of a new, more modern approach to the resolution of conflicts in the workplace.

He encouraged the formation of mutual respect and mutual goodwill.

Pat Bain saw these as the indispensable foundation for negotiations and consistently sought to present well researched and closely reasoned arguments to support his case for better conditions for the workers.

Pat Bain was also the epitome of the modern trade unionist.

Like some of the other modernists; he understood the collective economic power achievable by the prudent pooling of trade union savings.

He understood the investment of those savings in a variety of ventures for the ultimate benefit of his union members.

In this regard, he astutely reached out for the informed advice of financial consultants, bankers, pension administrators and others with specialist skills in the financial services industry.

In so doing, his aim was to always put trade union organisations on a more business like footing to better serve and fortify the economic interests of trade union members over the long term.

Pat Bain was a man of exceptional intelligence who understood the awesome responsibility that rested upon the shoulders of leaders like himself who commanded the support and allegiance of thousands of workers throughout our country.

He knew only too well how easy it was to use the power entrusted to him for purposes that might prove detrimental; not only to the interests of workers, but to the country at large.

It is to his everlasting credit, however, that he never misused or abused the power in a way that injured the interests of union members or the interests of our country.

Instead, the record will show that he exercised the great power entrusted to him with moderation and restraint.

He realised that power in the wrong hands could be a dangerous thing and he was always careful, therefore, to ensure that his hands were steady.

His hands remained firmly and responsibly on the wheel.

There were times, of course, when some of his own colleagues would have had cause to question whether Pat was proceeding a little too patiently or moderately in relation to one industrial conflict or another.

Invariably, however, the ultimate outcome of the conflict would vindicate the disciplined and carefully studied approach he had made.

Patient; moderate, disciplined, restrained and mature.

Pat Bain’s leadership of the National Congress of Trade Unions led to an agreement for regular meetings between representatives of the Cabinet and member trade union leaders.

I will always remember the last of those meetings which he attended.

He demonstrated the level of his leadership and maturity by how he facilitated the introduction of his replacement as president Hotel Workers Union; sitting next to him as the new leader of the union.

There is another extremely important part of Pat Bain’s legacy as a trade union leader that I need to touch upon, because it speaks so eloquently to the kind of man he was and the level of respect and admiration that he earned as a result of it.

In this regard, I was moved by the obituary that was published in yesterday’s newspapers.  It listed among the survivors, not only family members, but a great many other persons who constituted a part of Pat’s wide circle of friends.

But what I thought was particularly poignant and telling was the inclusion of a number of notable leaders of the employer grouping that Pat would have had to cross swords with during his time as president of the Hotel Workers Union.

The name of J. Barrie Farrington was one of the more prominent names listed in this regard.

What a wonderful thing this says about Pat Bain.  That he could be on the opposite side of a conflict and that he could be an adversary across the table, but that a deep and enduring friendship on a foundation of abiding mutual respect and admiration could nonetheless blossom and achieve a full flowering.

But that was the kind of man Pat Bain was.

He could fight with you, but his respect for you as a person and his great humanitarian spirit allowed him to form deep friendships with people like J. Barrie Farrington and other representatives of employers that he had occasion to deal with in the course of his career in trade unionism.

I am deeply saddened by Pat’s death, because I honestly feel that there was so much more that he was capable of giving to our country and to trade unionism…

If only his life could have been extended.

A man of his experience, maturity, excellent judgment, patriotic devotion and a compassion for the labouring masses had so very much more to give.

In this sense, his death represents a genuine loss for all of us and we are all the poorer for his passing.

We are reminded, however, that the time allotted to each of us upon this earth is not a matter for mortal calculation.

These decisions rest with a power that is far greater than all of us; a power that possesses an infinite wisdom, even if we are at a loss to understand why it is given to some to live long lives, while others are called away.

One day when we have all walked the final leg of our earthly journey as Pat Bain has now done; we will understand.

It is my very sincere hope that those of you who will now rise to fill the vacuum created by Pat’s departure from this earthly scene will honour his memory and will perpetuate his legacy by embracing and practicing those same admirable virtues that characterised Pat’s distinguished record of service as one of the greatest labour leaders this country has ever produced.

On behalf of the people of The Bahamas, and on my personal behalf and that of my family, I extend my very sincere condolences to Pat’s bereaved family and to all the members of that mass family of trade union members whom he served so loyally and effectively for so long.

May he rest in peace.