KINGSTON, Jamaica — Well known trade unionist, Alvin Sinclair, a vice-president of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) died in hospital yesterday after a prolonged illness.

Sinclair, 67, was the union’s representative on the Kingston waterfront, the once volatile maritime working environment which gave birth to the BITU, as well as the legend of William Alexander Bustamante who eventually founded both the union and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

A former chief union delegate for the BITU at the Gleaner Company, Sinclair was recruited by the union after his position was made redundant at the newspaper in 1984. He was also the BITU’s representative in the UNI Global Union, based in Nyon, Switzerland, which represents more than 20 million workers from over900 trade unions in the fastest growing sectors in the world.

BITU President, Kavan Gayle, said yesterday that union is greatly saddened by his passing, and recalled him as a hardworking and aggressive defender of the rights of the workers, who became an asset to the union during his stint at Duke Street.

He also expressed condolences on behalf of the union’s staff and its members to the relatives and friends of Sinclair.

Balford Henry