Friends,
Before anything else, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for the invitation, for your fellowship this morning, and for the work you do every day to keep this country moving.
Every Labour Day, we pause to honour the sacrifice, struggle, and solidarity of Bahamian workers. But if we’re honest, one day is never enough. The truth is our country is built on your hands. The dignity of your labour makes possible everything we enjoy.
So I don’t stand here as a guest of the labour movement. I stand here as one of you. I am, and always will be, a friend of labour. I don’t need a calendar or a parade to remind me where I stand. My support for workers is not seasonal it’s rooted in my soul.
And it guides how I lead this country.
I came up around people who worked hard. I saw the early mornings, the long hours, the quiet sacrifices made in silence and with grace. And I understood from young that decent work isn’t just about money, it’s about identity.
It’s about being seen, being respected, and being treated fairly.
And so I say today without hesitation: I am a unionist at heart. I believe in the power of collective voice. I believe in fairness. And as long as I am Prime Minister, you will never have to wonder where I stand.
My door will always be open to you. Not just in times of celebration, but when hard decisions need to be made.
I may not always be able to say yes. But you will always be heard. And you will always be respected.
I want to speak plainly now. And I want all who are here listening today, tell them Brave say.
Under my administration, we will not under any circumstance accept a Bahamas where Bahamians are made to feel like strangers in their own country.
I want to make that crystal clear.
It is not acceptable to me that any qualified Bahamian should be sidelined for a job they are more than capable of doing.
It is not acceptable that some employers continue to ignore local talent, acting as though Bahamians are somehow less competent or less deserving.
I have personally directed the cancellation of work permits in cases where Bahamians were being unfairly bypassed or treated unfairly. And we have strengthened our policies to ensure that Bahamians, our sons and daughters, are prioritized for the jobs that belong to them.
We are not begging for opportunity in our own land.
We are demanding fairness.
We are a proud people. A capable people. And I will not bend on this point.
To every young person who has studied, trained, and worked hard to contribute to this country know this: I see you. I value you. And I am fighting for you.
This isn’t about foreign versus local. It’s about justice. It’s about making sure the promises of independence mean something in the daily lives of working Bahamians.
We will welcome the world to our shores, but never at the expense of our own people.
This is our Bahamas. And we have one chance to get it right.
And let me say this to anyone who feels like they are being mistreated on the job:
If you are Bahamian and you’re being treated unfairly, call your union.
Call the Department of Labour.
And if that doesn’t work, call me directly.
Email me directly.
Because I will never sit by and let our people be disrespected.
You are not alone. And I will stand with you.
Before I take my seat, I want to say something else, something that may not be easy to hear, but needs to be said.
We are one country. One Bahamas.
We cannot allow politics, PLP or FNM, to divide us when so much is at stake.
I know the temptation. I’ve seen the damage. And I’ve lived through the consequences.
But the truth is: we have more in common than we sometimes admit. We all want safe communities, good jobs, fair wages, a decent life for our children. That’s not a party issue – that’s a people issue.
Friends, do me a favour.
Look at the person next to you.
Forget who they voted for. Forget what colour they wear on election day. Just see them for who they really are: your brother. Your sister. Your fellow Bahamian.
They hurt like you hurt.
They work like you work.
They love their children like you love yours.
We cannot let political labels come between us and our shared humanity. Not now. Not ever.
We need to start appealing to the better angels of our nature. We must find the strength to choose country over party, people over politics, unity over division.
We have a choice before us.
We can choose a Bahamas where we love each other, or a Bahamas where we build walls between us.
And I want to ask you something this morning, and I want you to really think about it:
When that storm comes—and you know in this country, it always does — What do we do?
When the wind howls, when the rain won’t stop, when the power’s out, and the sea is rising — What do we do?
We don’t ask what party you’re from. We don’t ask who you voted for.
We knock on doors. We pull people to safety.
We give the food we were saving.
We share our last bottle of water, our only dry blanket, our generator.
We give, even when we barely have enough for ourselves.
Why?
Because in those moments — we remember who we are.
We remember that we belong to each other.
So here’s the real question:
If we can love each other in the storm, why can’t we love each other in the sunshine too?
What stops us from seeing each other as brothers and sisters when the skies are clear?
We’ve already proven that we know how to care for one another.
We’ve already shown that we can stand shoulder to shoulder when it matters most.
So let’s stop waiting for a hurricane to remind us of our humanity.
Let’s choose that version of The Bahamas now – right now – where we look out for each other every day, where we choose kindness, where we make space for grace, where we see the best in each other before we judge the worst.
So to all the leaders and members of our unions.
You have my respect. You have my gratitude. And you have my word that this government is committed to walking with you.
Not just when it’s easy. Not just when the headlines are good. But especially when the road gets hard.
I know we won’t always see things the same way. But we don’t have to be on the same side of every issue to be on the same side of the people.
What matters is that we keep talking. We keep working. And we keep showing up for the people who wake up every day and keep this country going.
We won’t always get it right. But we are humble enough to listen, and strong enough to do better when we must.
That’s how progress happens not all at once, but step by step, together.
Let’s keep walking. Let’s keep building. And let’s honour those who came before us by doing right by those who will come after us.
May God bless you.
And may God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Thank you.