Minister of Labour Cornelius De Weever on Thursday announced that the annual "Second Day Parade" of the Carnival festivities will henceforth be known as the Labour Day Parade. It will be the first Labour Day Parade in the Caribbean giving the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) another unique aspect to market for Carnival and St. Maarten in general.
Annually held on May 1, which is Labour Day, affords costumed revelers one extra day to parade through the capital and culminate in Carnival Village. The Minister has remained adamant that the significance of Labour Day should somehow be reflected during the parade and the employee and employer representatives should play a part in the parade.
He engaged the SCDF with the idea and agreement was quickly arrived at considering "second day" is really a name and SCDF can incorporate the Labour Day Parade into its regional marketing initiatives.
"I would like to thank the employer and employees representatives, and the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation for endorsing the proposal. This event has potential to become a major attraction in the Caribbean. We can invite our colleagues (labour related) from the neighboring islands to celebrate with us. I am happy for the recognition of Labor Day with the Labor Day parade," the Minister said.
President of the SCDF Mike Granger echoed the Minister’s statements regarding inviting labour stakeholders from the region to take part. "We can really market this event now as another unique reason to come to St. Maarten. We always experimented with what we could do with the day and now it has significant meaning. We thank the Minister for the initiative and the tri-partite partners for supporting the Minister’s proposal," Granger said.
The parade will continue as is with the regular Carnival troupes but will include labour aspects. Those details will be worked out. "It’s Carnival, creativity and inclusion won’t be a problem, Granger concluded.