Trinidad and Tobago’s public holiday commemorating the 1937 oil workers’ uprising led by Tubal Uriah Butler is Labour Day.
The holiday is observed on June 19, the date associated with the beginning of the 1937 labour rebellion in the oilfields of southern Trinidad. Butler, a prominent trade-union leader, helped mobilize workers protesting low wages, poor working conditions, and racial and economic inequality.
The unrest became a major turning point in the development of organized labour and trade-union rights in the British Caribbean. The Butler movement is especially associated with the oil-producing areas around Fyzabad, where Labour Day observances traditionally include marches, speeches, and commemorations.
This holiday is distinct from Trinidad and Tobago’s May 1 observance in many other countries. It is also separate from Emancipation Day, Independence Day, and Republic Day, which commemorate different events in the nation’s history.