With the big Labour Day weekend just a week away, the Joint Labour Day Organising Commitee has plans in hand to make this year’s celebration, different. bigger and better,The centre of activities is intended to be Union Square itself. There will of course be the traditional Labour Day March preceeded by early morning start to the Road Race, and followed by speeches.The pre-Labour Day social event will be according to established tradition, the Labour Day Banquet of the Bermuda Industrial Union. It is on Friday next, August 31, at the Fairmont Southampton Resort and Spa.BIU President Chris Furbert has revealed that the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, has accepted his invitation to speak at the Banquet.Mr. Furbert said: “Prime Minister Spencer has been a friend of the BIU for over 30 years because of his involvement with trade unionism prior to leading his party, the United Progressive Party, to a landslide victory in the general election on March 24, 2004.“The Prime Minister is rooted in labour, being the First Vice President of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union before becoming Prime Minister. He played an integral role in the formation of the United Progressive Party, having previously served as leader of the United National Democratic Party and spearheaded collaborative meetings with the Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement that resulted in the formation of the United Progressive Party.”Upon formation of the party, the Prime Minister rose to become its political leader and Opposition Leader in Parliament. He first entered Parliament in 1989 representing the people in the St John’s Rural West Constituency and was the Leader of the Opposition until his party’s historic victory in 2004.Baldwin Spencer spent over a quarter of a century in labour negotiations, serving in the highest positions in the trade union movement. In addition to serving as First Vice President of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union, he also served as Assistant General Secretary. He also served as President of the Caribbean Maritime and Aviation Council.Over the course of his career in public service, Prime Minister Spencer has established himself as an integral part of Antigua’s social fabric. His involvement includes: The Antigua Football Association, the Antigua Cricket Association, the Antigua Steelband Association, the Halcyon Steel Orchestra and Executive member of the Past Pupils and Teachers Association of the Greenbay Government School.Internationally, Prime Minister Spencer has been Chairperson of the Group of 77 and China at the United Nations. In 2008 he assumed the Chairmanship of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations within Caricom, and the Chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) from July, 2008.Prime Minister Spencer is the Chief Pathfinder in the Northern Hemisphere of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.Persons interested in obtaining tickets for the banquet should contact LaVerne Furbert at 292-0044 or by e-mail at lfurbert@biu.bm. The cost of the banquet tickets remain at $100 each, the Union stated.