Nascent unions: a study of trade union development and labour relations in the English-speaking Caribbean with particular reference to Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad and Tobago

Joseph, Raphael M. H. (1973) Nascent unions: a study of trade union development and labour relations in the English-speaking Caribbean with particular reference to Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad and Tobago. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

In this study of unions in the English-speaking Caribbean, the emphasis is placed on the social, political and economic factors that have contributed to the development and growth of the labour movement. It examines the historical basis of the structure of Caribbean society in an attempt to explain the social, political and economic factors that have shaped the character of contemporary Caribbean unions. Rather than presenting a chronological account of union growth and development, the focus has been placed on the principal factors and events that have created and maintained worker solidarity throughout the region. -- Chapter I discusses aspects of Caribbean history which help to explain the distinctive development of trade unionism in this region. Chapters II to IV examine the development of unionism in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua with some emphasis on their similarities and differences. In Chapter III the racial and cultural heterogenity is emphasized since it poses obvious difficulties for organized group action. In Chapter V aspects of the industrial relations system are examined and the problems of union organization and regulation are explored. -- The Caribbean, like many of the underdeveloped regions of the world which have recently emerged from colonialism, now faces the crucial task of nation building. Intellectual modernization, cumulative technological change, heavy foreign investment and the virtually unrestricted flow of ideas are some of the principal forces which create and sustain conflict in industry, government and the labour movement. The desire for rapid development and growth introduces into the industrial relations machinery new procedures for dealing with industrial conflict. Whereas Jamaica has strengthened its conciliation and arbitration machinery, Trinidad has adopted more stringent legislation to regulate union activity through the provisions of the Industrial Stabilization Act of 1965 and the Industrial Relations Act of 1971. The operation of the industrial relations system is examined in Chapter V. -- In the final chapter, some of the current theories of nascent unions are examined and evaluated in the light of Caribbean experiences. The more extreme forms of union control are rejected in preference to broad institutional changes which, it is hoped, will create a climate where innovative labour administration can more adequately assist in the struggle for economic development and social progress.

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