(Kaieteur News) – The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) has called on Caribbean leaders to move beyond rhetoric and fully implement regional decisions, warning that the promise of Caribbean integration will remain unfulfilled if governments continue to place national interests above collective commitments.

In a message marking CARICOM Day 2026, the GTUC joined governments and citizens across the region in commemorating the 53rd anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which established the Caribbean Community on July 4, 1973.

The congress paid tribute to CARICOM’s founding leaders: Forbes Burnham, Errol Barrow, Michael Manley and Eric Williams, saying they recognised that Caribbean states would be better able to protect their sovereignty and improve the lives of their citizens through unity and collective action.