read the case below and answer the question that follows.

• the History of the growth of industrial relations in Jamaica from post-emancipation era to present

One hundred years after emancipation in 1838, the economic, social, and political conditions of slavery still existed in Jamaican Society.

Just before 1938, in Jamaica, there existed the anti-colonial struggle which ushered in a social awakening and the formation of new political groups (the Social Reconstruction League, the National Reform Association, the Jamaica Progressive League, the Jamaica Union of Teachers, the National Agricultural Society). There was the intellectual fervor of black nationalism which was followed by the worldwide movement by Marcus Garvey.

Around that time the labor movement emerged along with the birth of trade unions. Among the first trade unions recorded in the late 1890s were the Artisans Union, the Jamaica Union of Teachers, and later the Printers union to which Marcus Garvey was associated during his work as a foreman at PJ Benjamins Printing Shop.

Trade Unions were then illegal, and any attempts by workers to show support or interest were deemed to be acts of criminal conspiracy by the colonial authority. This was embedded in the masters and Slave Act of 1842 that was instituted after the slaves left the plantation. Under the masters and Slave Act, it was illegal to combine or meet. It was an anti-worker culture.

In 1919 just after the first world war, Alexander Bain Alves formed two trade unions, the Longshoremen 1 and Longshoremen 2 which were illegal. There were riots and people were shot. Consequently, Governor Sir Leslie Probyn was forced to bring the legislation to have the Trade Union Act passed in record time.

Birth of the Modern Labour Movement.

During the early 1930s, the Great Depression in the USA created conditions that were unbearable for workers in the Caribbean and there were a lot of labor uprisings in the Caribbean countries. It was during this time that Jamaican workers began to organize themselves into trade unions beginning with the formation of the first blanket trade union, the Jamaica Workers and Tradesmen Union (JWTU) in 1936, led by Alan George St. Claver Coombs and Hugh Buchanan.

The 1938 Labour Uprising the Catalyst for the Modern Industrial Relations in Jamaica and the Caribbean

In 1938 the English Sugar refiners Tate & Lye became heavily involved in sugar production and built a factory in Frome, Westmoreland. There was the promise of jobs for the highly unemployed masses in Jamaica and the prospect of paying minimum wages of 4 shillings; however, the news was fake. This resulted in the outbreak of protest actions and demonstrations resulting in violence and loss of lives.

Two weeks later the Kingston waterfront workers took strike action demanding an increase in their hourly rates. The demands were not met. Stores, garbage collection and general commercial activities were crippled because of the strike action on the part of the workers.

On both occasions, at Frome and Waterfront, Alexander Bustamante entered the fray and offered his assistance initially as a mediator and not as a labor leader.

In the days leading up to May 23, 1938, Bustamante and St. William Grant were the key persons acting on behalf of the workers. By then Bustamante no longer wanted to mediate but to agitate.

These riots in the other Caribbean islands and the labor riots of 1938 in Jamaica led to the establishment of a commission of inquiry under the Lord Moyne (Moyne commission). This report which was influenced by the General Secretary of the British Trade Union Congress (BTUC), Lord Citrine served as the framework for the establishment of the system of industrial relations in Jamaica- this was based on the British Voluntary model. This system placed considerable emphasis on negotiation between labor and management as the mechanism for fostering terms and conditions of employment.

The role of government was mainly to create and foster the conditions under which such deliberations could take place. (Cowell, 1998, 2000).

1938 was a significant period in Jamaicas political history and proved to be the most critical in defining Jamaicas trade union movement. The strikes and general labor unrests during the period were not the work of any trade union organization. In many instances, the strikes and protest actions were spontaneous, disorganized, and had no definable strategy. It was during 1938 that the Peoples National Party (PNP) was formed

question 1

. Given the history of industrial relations in Jamaica, to what extent do you believe the founding fathers aided the development of the Modern Industrial Relations Practice. (15 marks)