THE MOST HON. HUGH LAWSON SHEARER, politician, trade unionist, third Prime Minister of independent Jamaica, has departed the scene. Age and infirmity being no respecter of persons, have laid their claim and so has come to an end, a career of over half a century in public life.
A protégé of Sir Alexander Bustamante, himself one of the architects of modern Jamaica, Hugh Shearer's seminal contribution was primarily to the workers' cause, begun when in the 1940s, he entered the service of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union as "a little boy in short pants," as the legend goes. In time, he rose to the leadership ranks of the union, emerging as President along the way, gaining the respect not only of his colleagues but competitors.
He drove a hard bargain in the interest of the workers whom he represented and when occasion demanded, he fought for the interest of all, regardless of their affiliation. He was the consummate advocate of the working class, into which he himself was born.
Among his many achievements, colleagues recall the epic struggles toward forging a new culture on the Kingston waterfront, as the move was made from the old labour-intensive mode to container-shipping, necessary for progress but traumatic for workers. He fought too on behalf of workers in the sugar industry, taking up the cause alongside Michael Manley, with whom he was to maintain a lifelong friendship, even though they stood on separate sides of the political divide.
It was natural that he would enter representational politics, given the alliance between the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the BITU, a synergy established by founder Bustamante. Hugh Shearer successfully represented the JLP at the polls on several occasions and following the retirement of Sir Alexander in 1967 assumed the post of leadership. His tenure as Prime Minister (1967-72), was not without tension and testing.
There will always be question marks over his government's banning of Guyanese-born university lecturer Walter Rodney for alleged subversive activities which led to what came to be known as the Black Power riots of 1968.
There was too, the controversial banning of books also deemed to be a source of subversion, a contradiction for a man who led Jamaica's seminal representation to the United Nations and successfully placed the declaration of a Year of Human Rights on the global agenda. Despite this, it cannot be denied that the legacy of H.L. Shearer includes success, notably the era of national economic advancement of the 1960s when some six per cent growth was achieved, a target which has yet to be equalled.
By the time of his retirement, he had become a true elder statesman, a beloved icon of the union movement, founding president of the Joint Trade Unions Research Development Centre and of the Joint Confederation of Trade Unions. Above and beyond that, his unfailing courtesy, his refusal to become part of the political culture of tribalism and pettiness, his espousal of decency and integrity, his philosophy of "malice towards none," seasoned with a legendary sense of humour, earned for 'H.L.', the affection of his peers and the admiration of the nation.
The 'tide of time' served eventually to remove him from the public arena and he passed the last few years of his life in relative seclusion, battling with the effects of ageing. Now, (to borrow from cricket terminology), at 81, the innings is closed. History will show that he gave a good account while at the crease.
