Labour Law

• Pages: 261-295

CHAPTER 7

LABOUR LAW

THE EMERGENCE OF TRADE UNIONS IN THE

COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN

Richard Hart in his article ‘The Birth of the Trade Union Movement in the English-speaking

Caribbean Area’

1 explains that:

The trade union movement in the English-speaking Caribbean area was born in conditions of

illegality. Immediately after the abolition of slavery and apprenticeship, statutes were enacted in

several British colonies which, reinforcing the Common Law of England, made the formation of

combinations of workers a criminal offence.

2

His account of the promulgation of successive Masters and Servants Laws

3 across the region, to

regulate the relations between employers and employees after 1834 in the post-emancipation

period, depicts a tale of refashioned slavery. Seemingly, the shackles of slavery had been

replaced by a non-negotiable list of disciplinary sanctions cleverly disguised as express contract

terms required for public order and industrial peace. Unsurprisingly, threats of forfeited wages

and imprisonment were impotent impediments to the formation of the fi rst trade unions in the

late 1800s. Trinidad

4 and Tobago, and Jamaica

5 pioneered this movement to collectively lobby

as employees against their employer for increased wages and improved working conditions. By

the early 1900s, Jamaica and British Guiana had introduced legislation decriminalising trade

union activities.

6 However, picketing on the employer’s premises remained unlawful, and no

immunity from actions for breach of contract was given to trade unions. Nonetheless, it was not

until the wave of unrests across the region in the 1930s that trade unionism was cemented as a

defi ning and defi nitive superstructure of the Commonwealth Caribbean labour relations land-

scape. As explained by Hart:

The trade union movement that emerged in Jamaica out of the 1938 labour rebellion was quite

different in structure to that which had developed in Trinidad and was developing in British

Guiana. The form of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union was unique. It was not established

in the traditional way by workers meeting and resolving to form an organisation. It was done

from the top downwards. From the start it was made clear that the Union belonged to its leader.

7

Nevertheless, it was not until the publication of the fi ndings of the West India Royal

Commission

8 – that had been appointed to enquire into the wave of labour rebellions across

1 Social and Economic Studies 48:3 (1999), pp. 173–196.

2 Ibid. at 173.

3 Masters and Servants Act Antigua 1834, the ‘Contracts Law’ of Barbados 1838 and the Masters and

Servants Law of Jamaica 1841 are notable examples.

4 The Trinidad Workingmen’s Association in 1897. See Samaroo, B. (1972) ‘The Trinidad Workingmen’s

Association and the Origins of Popular Protest in a Crown Colony’, Social and Economic Studies , Vol. 21

No. 2 (June 1972) pp. 205–222.

5 The Jamaica Union of Teachers in 1894 and the Artisans Union in 1898. See Hart, R. (1988) ‘Origin

and Development of the Working Class in the English Speaking Caribbean Area 1897–1937’ in Cross,

M. & Heuman, G. (Eds) Labour in the Caribbean London, Macmillan.

6 The Trade Union Act of Jamaica 1919, the Trade Union Ordinance of British Guiana 1921.

7 Hart, R. (1999) ‘The Birth of the Trade Union Movement in the English-speaking Caribbean Area’

Social and Economic Studies 48:3 173–196 at 192.

8 Cmnd 6174 – June 1945.

262 Commonwealth Caribbean Employment and Labour Law

the region – that legislative intervention was proposed. The Commission recommended intro-

ducing statutory recognition of trade unions in line with that provided for in Britain through-

out West Indian colonies, and the establishment of Government Labour Departments where

they did not exist.

9

Some of the earliest trade unions formed in the Commonwealth Caribbean were:

• the British Honduras Workers’ & Tradesmen’s Union – 1939;

• the Antigua Trades & Labour Union – 1939;

• the St. Vincent Workingmen’s Cooperative Association – 1939;

• the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union Jamaica – 1939;

• Trade Union Council Jamaica – 1939;

• the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union – 1940; and

• the Barbados Workers’ Union – 1941.

At the turn of the 1950s, the tendency for trade unions to be affi liated with rival political

parties

10 naturally gave way to a trade union movement led by competition between unions for

recruitment of members. A practice of conducting representational polls developed, in order

to determine which of the competing unions would represent the workers; predominantly these

were general workers’ unions with membership open to all categories of workers.

11 This unique

omnibus approach to workers’ organisation was due mainly to the fact that large-scale indus-

trial operations were not a feature of Caribbean economies at that time. Lawrence Nurse

opines that trade unions in the region:

… represented an attempt to associate together pockets of workers from different occupational

groupings who by themselves would have been unable to mobilise their collective resources to

deal effectively with the planters or the merchant-planters in whose hands both political and

economic power were concentrated. Such an institutional response in the form of blanket union-

ism therefore refl ected the objective circumstances which prevailed. It made more sense for this

type of organisational form to be the vehicle for the expression of workers’ grievances and the

means for seeking some redress to their plight since it was considered to be the most effective

method for engaging in the class struggle.

12

In effect, formal recognition of trade unions engendered industrial democracy

13 in the workplace,

by allowing for the co-determination between employers and employees of decisions affecting

the employment relationship. This paradigm shift in industrial relations across the region hitherto

characterised by agro-proletariats – who were subject to ‘low wages, manipulation, unemployment,

9 Ibid. Hart at 195.

10 See Hart, R. (2004) ‘Trade Union Developments 1952–1953’ in Time For a change: constitutional, political

and labour developments in Jamaica and other colonies in the Caribbean region, 1944–1955 (Arawak Publications),

Chapter 21 at p. 240, where he cites the example of the National Workers’ Union which was launched

by the People’s National party in 1952. Similarly, in Barbados and St. Kitts and Nevis, trade unions

were formed out of quasi-political organisations. Whereas, in British Honduras (Belize) and Antigua and

Barbuda the political parties developed out of the trade union organisation.

11 Jamaica is distinguishable on this point as teachers, civil servants and local government offi cers have

traditionally been represented in separate single trade unions. See Hart, R. (2004) ‘Trade Union

Developments 1952–1953’ in Time for a change, Chapter 21 at p. 239. Note also his comments on the

historical emergence of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions.

12 Nurse, L. (1986) ‘Trade Unions in the English-Speaking Caribbean’ Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs

Vol. 12 No. 4 1–13 at p. 6.

13 See Gibbon, HVI (1998) Industrial Relations Mirrored ( Jamaica Printing Service) at p. 21, where she

explores the different models of industrial democracy, including employee suggestion schemes,

employee representative at the board level, work councils, cooperative, joint councils, quality circles,

collective bargaining and employee share ownership.

Chapter 7: Labour Law 263

blacklisting, worker regimentation and victimisation, racism, and political disenfranchisement’

14 –

was undoubtedly instigated by anti-colonial sentiment and the single-minded pursuit of inde-

pendence.

15

In their heyday, unions were integral entities in the fabric of Commonwealth Caribbean

nations, acting as the virtual voice of the masses in the public domain not only in employment-

related issues but also in the development of social and economic policies and signifi cantly

infl uencing the country’s political direction. It would not be incorrect to say, however, that the

current weight of the union’s powers has diminished considerably due to a number of factors,

not the least of which was the onslaught of globalisation and the economic decline of industries

which were the mainstays of union membership. Although there is no empirical evidence that

globalisation has a direct result on the sustainability of trade unions and their ability to sustain

collective agreements, Robert Morris suggests that ‘in the Caribbean, the interventions of

the international fi nancial institutions in the 1980s and 1990s led to the introduction of stabi-

lization and structural adjustments programmes which triggered defl ationary policies resulting

in massive job losses and consequently lowered union membership’.

16 In modern times, it has

therefore become necessary for these once powerful unions of yesteryear to analyse their posi-

tions with a view to reinventing themselves in order to maintain their relevance by commenc-

ing a process to renew growth and development. Morris points out that, in more recent times,

Commonwealth Caribbean trade unions continue to negotiate collective agreements mainly in

manufacturing, wholesale and retail, transport, storage and commerce, public services, utilities

and hotels.

17 He highlights development of the service sector, the spread of technology, human

resource strategies, and individualism (as opposed to collectivism) as current challenges facing

the trade union movement.

18 Cowell and Singh point out that ‘de-recognition’ of trade unions

also poses a threat:

In essence, an employer orchestrates the de-recognition of a union and replaces key instrumental

benefi ts associated with the union by implementing an ‘innovative compensation strategy’ that

may involve premium pay and incentive compensation. Often the employer is able to do this while

reducing the overall wage bill, by cutting staff and implementing cross-training and multi-skilling

supported by the introduction of new technology and improved work processes.

19

THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO TRADE UNION

MEMBERSHIP

Freedom of association

Commonwealth Caribbean states have enjoyed the right to join trade unions under the rubric

of freedom of association. This came with the advent of legislation decriminalising the existence

of trade unions.

20 Some Commonwealth Caribbean states have made constitutional provision

14 See Nurse, L. (1986) ‘Trade Unions in the English-Speaking Caribbean’ Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs

Vol. 12 No. 4 1–13, p. 4.

15 See Robert, A. (2004) A History of Organized Labor in the English Speaking West Indies (Praeger Publishers) p. 17.

16 See Morris, R. (2002) Trade Union Administration: A Caribbean Workers’ Education Guide (ILO) p. 4.

17 Ibid. at p. 3. He also notes that, in larger countries, quarrying and mining is covered and that, in

Trinidad, fi nance and insurance are major areas covered by collective agreements.

18 Ibid. at pp. 5–7.

19 See Cowell, N. and Singh, G. (2002) ‘Strategic Choice and the De-Collectivization of the Employment

Relationship in the Commonwealth Caribbean’ International Employment Relations Review , Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 15.

20 See Okpaluba, C. (1975) ‘Freedom of Association in West Indian Labour Law’ 7 Lawyer of the Americas ,

291–317 at p. 291.