NATIONAL WORKERS UNION

The early beginnings of the trade union movement 

The modern trade union movement has its genesis in the workers’ uprising of the 1930s.  It was a time of social and economic hardships for the Jamaican people, who were not only suffering as a consequence of the colonial policies, but were still deprived of their political rights to elect a government of their choosing.   It was out of this crisis that the People’s National Party was born with the broad objective of emancipating the people of Jamaica from colonial domination and to firmly place power in the hands of the ordinary Jamaican people. The crisis had loomed in several strikes and protest actions, leading to an attempted general strike organized by Alexander Bustamante in February 1939.  The entire labour movement appeared to be in danger of collapse as employers began a reign of terror.  The failed general strike and the response by the colonial government, forced Norman Manley to intervene to break the crisis.   

 As a result of Norman Manley’s intervention the Trade Union Advisory Council (TUAC) was formed in an effort “to rally all voluntary efforts on the part of persons willing to assist in the orderly and progressive development of the trade union movement, to prevent frivolous strikes, to unify policy, to eliminate strife amongst the workers’ organizations and between labour and capital…” The orderly development of the trade union movement was assured under the TUAC, with membership included from the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, other trade union representatives, employers’ organizations and the Conciliation Board. 

This broad membership reflected the original concept of a labour movement closely aligned with the political movement – the industrial arm to be led by Alexander Bustamante and the political arm to be led by Norman Manley.  The objectives were also closely aligned – economic betterment and political independence.  By 1940 thoughts of a united political and labour movement would be cherished when Manley and Bustamante led the first Labour Day march from the BITU office to Tivoli Gardens.  In that same year Bustamante was arrested on a charge of sedition and placed in internment at Up Park Camp.  During his solitary confinement officers of the PNP helped with the organization of the BITU and presided over its growth during that period. In 1942, upon Bustamante’s release from prison, he withdrew his membership from the PNP.  The relationship between the BITU and the PNP was severed and several officers of the union were sacked.  The genesis of our two party political system and the bitter struggles in trade union rivalry followed on this episode. 

Carl Stone, in an article on “Three Decades of Trade Unionism in Jamaica” noted that “if a divided labour movement served to give Jamaica an embryonic two party system, it also served, for two decades at least, to destroy worker solidarity, to bring to the fore violence that always has been close to the surface in Jamaican society…” 

The formation of the National Workers Union

The National Workers Union was founded on April 2, 1952, arising from the split which developed between the People’s National Party and the Trade Union Congress in 1951. The NWU became an affiliate of the PNP with the expressed objectives of advancing the cause and interest of the working class. At the core of the NWU’s philosophy was its abiding faith in the working class. It recognized that the power of the union is an expression of the unity and power of the working class.  In that regard it fought to protect workers from the day-to-day injustices and unfair treatment which too often occurs at the workplace.  The union was also committed to empowering the workers and to providing them with a voice at the workplace as part of a broader philosophical creed.   

Beyond, its primary function of negotiating labour contracts to improve the wages and conditions of work of its membership, the union recognized that the sustainability of the quality life for the Jamaican workers had to go beyond the ‘economics’ of trade unionism.  The NWU was therefore committed to the transformation of the social and economic system and to develop a society of freedom and abundance for all.

 The key personalities who were instrumental in the formation of the NWU included Norman Manley, N. N. “Crab” Nethersole, F. A. Glasspole, and Vernon Arnett.    By 1955 Michael Manley joined the NWU and pioneered the growth and development of the union.  The spectacular growth in the union, vis-à-vis the BITU and TUC, was as a result of the organizing skills of Manley, Nethersole, Glasspole, Ken Sterling, Holroyd Thompson, Thossy Kelly and others.  By the early 1960s the NWU had recruited a number of university graduates to its staff.  Officers like Carlyle Dunkley, Las Perry, Lloyd Goodleigh, Leighton Holness and others brought an added dimension to collective bargaining.

Some early struggles
The NWU were involved in several struggles over the years, notable among them were the Trevor Watson dismissal case which occurred in 1955; the G.G.R Sharpe’s Enquiry into the Banana Industry of 1959; the Goldenberg Enquiry of 1960; the JOS strike of 1963; the JBC strike of 1964; the Mordecai Commission of Enquiry of 1965, and the struggles led by Thossy Kelly during the 1960s against Government’s attitude and policies in respect to the needs and demands of government employees.

Anti-IMF stance
Following on the PNP’s massive electoral victory in 1976, the Jamaican economy came under tremendous pressure from the oil crisis and external influences. As a consequence the country was forced into a borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund. The NWU was the first trade union organization to oppose the conditionalities of the Fund.  The opposition to the IMF was based on the fact that their conditionalities imposed harsh economic measures on the country which would result in drastic cuts in social benefits and social programmes and would lead to untold hardships for the working class.  The NWU was therefore part of the broad alliance which took on the task of defining a ‘non-IMF path’.

  Through the Party/Union affiliation several discussions were held to find ways of overcoming the harsh effects of the IMF’s policies.  It was as a result of these discussions that the PNP government of the 1970s introduced the National Housing Trust, to provide affordable houses for lower middle income earners; and the re-conceptualization of the Workers Bank was introduced.  Beyond that the Michael Manley led government introduced a raft of social legislations including:  the Employment Termination & Redundancy Payments Act, the Labour Relations & Industrial Disputes Act, the National Minimum Wage Act, the Maternity Leave Act, Equal Pay for Equal Work and several others.  Workers were given a voice at the workplace through the concept of worker participation. The education and training of delegates were intensified and efforts were made to improve the practice of labour-management relationship and to establish a platform for a genuine social contract. 

The NWU participated in this period of social and psychological upliftment of the working class, and brought a new sophistication to wage negotiations and collective bargaining.  It was in this period that the Industrial Disputes Tribunal was set up with trade union representation to have disputes settled through arbitration.  The role of the Ministry of Labour through its conciliation machinery was strengthened and provided useful support for the settlement of disputes. Carl Stone noted that during the 1980s under a Seaga-led JLP Government the general sentiments held by the Jamaican workers was that the JLP is anti-labour.  The JLP introduced an economic model under its ‘structural adjustment’ programme which resulted in the rapid devaluation of the Jamaican dollar; the de-regulation of the Jamaican economy and the divestment of government-owned entities; the consequences of which were massive lay-offs, closure of factories, run-down health facilities, and schools without benches and desks for the children.  In addition, wage guidelines restrictions limited workers to approximately $10 per week wage increase.  

 So severe was the pressure on the working class that the trade union movement in 1985 called a general strike to protest against the policies of the JLP government and to signal that the policies of de-regulation, divestment and devaluation would finally lead to the ‘death’ of the Jamaican worker.

From Confrontation to Cooperation
The NWU was instrumental in the establishment of the Joint Trade Unions Research Development Centre (JTURDC) in 1980.  In fact, at the formation of the JTURDC Holroyd Thompson became its first chairman.  The JTURDC was set up to unite the movement in the areas of research and education.  In later years the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions was set up to speak with one single voice on social, economic and political matters affecting the working class. Statistics from the Ministry of Labour & Employment show that during the 1990s the PNP was the fastest growing union in Jamaica.  In recent times the NWU has successfully defended the Jamaican workers through such landmark cases as the Jamaica Flour Mills, the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited, the Holiday Inn Hotel and Motor Sales & Services Limited.  The Union is presently in court with Security Guard Companies to win the right of security guards for union representation. The NWU pledges it continued loyalty to the working class and will continue to use its association with the People’s National Party to further the interest of the Jamaican workers.  The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, for example, between the Government of Jamaica and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions was a major achievement in industrial relations and the promotion of the kind of social dialogue and consultation that we have to further in the best interest of the workers of this country.  

Contact Information:
National Workers Union130 East Street
Kingston, Jamaica W.I.
Tel:(876)922-1150-4
Fax: (876) 922 6608
Email: