WOMEN FACTORY WORKERS AND TRADE UNIONS:
A JAMAICAN CASE
by A. Lynn Bolles
Assistant Professor of
Anthropology
Bowdoin College
A paper presented to the Caribbean Studies Association, 6th Annual
Conference, May 1981.
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Since 1938, t h e organized labor movement i n Jamaica has been such an
i n f l u e n t i a l f o r c e t h a t it has d i c t a t e d t h e course of events i n t h e country's
s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l spheres a n d , f r e q u e n t l y , i t s economic order.
Trade unions,
i n conjunction with t h e i r p o l i t i c a l p a r t y a f f i l i a t e s , a r e so dominant i n t h e
Jamaican s o c i a l system t h a t t h e i r influence tends t o obscure t h e f a c t t h a t
organized labor, i n i t s e l f , r e p r e s e n t s a r e l a t i v e l y small proportion of t h e
working population (see Gonsalves 1977).
In a d d i t i o n , d e s p i t e t h e high
r a t e of female labor f o r c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n Jamaica, women have a low l e v e l
of t r a d e union membership (personal communications, s t a f f member, t r a d e
union)
.
And, although women i n general a r e a c t i v e and
numerically strong i n t h e work force, they tend t o be under-represented i n
t r a d e unions a s organizers o r s t a f f members.
The r e l a t i v e l y few women who
a r e t r a d e u n i o n i s t s most o f t e n do not occupy decision-making p o s i t i o n s .
The purpose of t h i s paper i s two-fold.
F i r s t , i t w i l l examine some
working c l a s s
of t h e f a c t o r s which have led t o t h e low l e v e l of/female rank and f i l e
membership i n Jamaica's labor organizations.
Second, t h i s discussion w i l l
address t h e s i t u a t i o n of a group of women who a r e rank and f i l e t r a d e union
members.
Data f o r t h i s example group was c o l l e c t e d from 127 working c l a s s
women production workers employed i n f a c t o r i e s located i n t h e Kingston
1
Metropolitan Area. They a r e a l l members of one of t h r e e prominent t r a d e
unions--Bustamante I n d u s t r i a l Trade Union (BITU), National Workers Union
2
(NWU), and t h e Trade Union Congress of Jamaica (TUC) .
The guiding theme of t h i s paper t a k e s i n t o consideration t h e i n f l u e n t i a l
n a t u r e o f t r a d e unionism i n Jamaica and t h e n e c e s s i t y f o r women t o be
incorporated i n t o t h e movement on a l l organizational l e v e l s , including
rank and f i l e .
A t present, t h e r e i s a newly formed i n s t i t u t i o n i n Jamaica
which i s dedicated t o a s s i s t i n g c u r r e n t female t r a d e u n i o n i s t s i n gaining
t h e t o o l s necessary t o assume p o s i t i o n s of g r e a t e r a u t h o r i t y and leadership within t h e i r organizations.
I t i s e s s e n t i a l f o r those women p r e s e n t l y
a c t i v e i n organized labor, t o be a b l e t o r i s e above t h e p a r t i c i p a t o r y
l e v e l of 'ldonkey workt1, i . e . ,
r e a l power, e t c .
s e c r e t a r i a l and a s s i s t a n t p o s i t i o n s without
Moreover, it i s a l s o c r u c i a l t h a t women t r a d e u n i o n i s t s
form strong l i n e s of communication between themselves and t h e rank and f i l e
female membership. This paper hopes t o c o n t r i b u t e t o those o b j e c t i v e s ,
t h e J o i n t Trade Union's Research Development Center
which a r e designed by/
TRADE UNIONISM AND WOMEN WORKERS
P r i o r t o examining female p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t r a d e unions, a general,
very b r i e f h i s t o r y of t h e labor movement i n Jamaica must be presented.
Gonsalves (1977) notes t h e following four phases i n t h e development of t h e
t r a d e union movement i n Jamaica.
The f i r s t phase begins i n 1919 with t h e
passage of t h e Trade Union Law, which allowed workers t o organize without
being subject t o criminal p e n a l t i e s .
However, it was not u n t i l 1938 (the
end of t h e f i r s t phase) t h a t a law was passed which granted workers t h e
l e g a l r i g h t t o engage i n peaceful picketing.
The r i g h t t o peaceful p r o t e s t
was an outcome f o t h e 1938 r i o t s , a s was t h e establishment of t h e Royal
commission t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e causes f o r those disturbances.
As t h e laws
and p o l i t i c a l apparatus of t h e then Crown Colony of Jamaica changed i n
r e l a t i o n t o t h e changing economic s t r u c t u r e of t h e i s l a n d , t h e groundwork
f o r f u r t h e r development of t r a d e unionism was a l s o e s t a b l i s h e d .
Here it must be noted t h a t one of t h e important r e s u l t s of t h e 1938
r i o t s was t h a t r u r a l and u n s k i l l e d workers drew a t t e n t i o n t o t h e i r needs
f o r organized labor a c t i v i t y .
This need i s s a t i s f i e d during t h e t h i r d
s t a g e of t r a d e union development--that of growth and expansion.
To i l l u s t r a t e ,
consider t h e Jamaica Workers and Labourers Association,formed i n 1930
by Marcus Garvey.
That organization f a i l e d because r u r a l and u n s k i l l e d
workers were not attuned t o t h e d i s c i p l i n e and importance of t r a d e unionism.
When t h e events of 1938 a r e taken i n t o account, we can see t h a t t h e consciousn e s s of workers has been r a i s e d t o a l e v e l s u f f i c i e n t f o r g r e a t e r organized
labor a c t i v i t y .
Thus, t h e s i t u a t i o n i s resolved several years l a t e r , when
between 1942 and 1949, union membership included 55 percent of t h e working
c l a s s , represented by eleven organized unions (Gonsalves 1977:93).
Also during t h i s period, p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s were formed a s appendages
t o p a r t i c u l a r unions, i . e . ,
BITU and t h e Jamaica Labour Party (under Alexander
Bustamante), t h e TUC and t h e People's National Party (under Norman Manley).
This s i t u a t i o n added a new dimension t o organized labor i n t h e island-strong unionism equaled p o l i t i c a l power.
u n i v e r s a l a d u l t sufferage.
In 1944, Jamaica was granted
In t h e 1949 e l e c t i o n s , t h e Jamaica Labour Party
won t h e most s e a t s i n parliament, while t h e People's National Party earned
t h e majority i n popular vote.
In t h e period from 1950-52, another important episode t o t h i s t h i r d
stage
~f t r a d e union development occured.
With t h e
i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of union r i v a l r y between t h e BITU and the-TUC, i n t e r n a l
power plays divided t h e membership of t h e TUC and i t s p o l i t i c a l party--PNP.
3
The i s s u e came t o a head when t h e TUC leadership of t h e 4Hs was challenged
by i t s moderate members over questions of i n t e r n a t i o n a l a f f i l i a t i o n - pro-capitalist, or pro-socialist.
Soon a f t e r , t h e 4Hs were expelled from
t h e PNP, which viewed t h e i r progressive ( i . e . ,
incompatible t o t h e membership of t h e p a r t y .
s o c i a l i s t ) ideology a s
In 1952, a new t r a d e union,
t h e National Worker's Union (NWU) l e d by Michael Manley (Norman's son)
was formed not only t o combat i t s r i v a l union, t h e BITU, but a l s o t o
a s s i s t i n eliminating t h e power of t h e 4Hs.
In i t s f i r s t t h r e e y e a r s
(1952-55) t h e membership of t h e NWU was almost equal with t h a t of t h e TUC.
By 1956, however, t h e NWU's membership had increased t o n e a r l y double t h a t
of t h e TUC (12,502 t o 5,440), and was gaining on t h a t of t h e BITU, which
had 46,600 members (Gonsalves 1977:96).
This s i t u a t i o n b r i n g s t h e f o u r t h and f i n a l s t a g e of t r a d e union development i n t o focus--1956 t o Independence (1962).
During t h a t period, t h e
NWU gained predominance over t h e TUC on t h e b a s i s of McCarthyism ( a n t i -
communism) and t h e PNPts success i n t h e 1956 e l e c t i o n .
The NWU and t h e
BITU became t h e major unions, and t h e two-party nexus of t h e i r p o l i t i c a l
a f f i l i a t i o n s was consolidated.
Conditions became favorable f o r unionism
i n Jamaica, d e s p i t e t h e passage of a law which placed r e s t r i c t i o n s on s t r i k e s
i n the "essential services.It
Gonsalves (1977: 97) s t a t e s t h a t t h e major
employers had come t o r e a l i z e t h a t i t made b e t t e r business sense t o allow
unionization
i n order t o maintain i n d u s t r i a l peace, so long a s t h e unions
were "responsiblett--BITU and NWU were g e n e r a l l y deemed q u a l i f i e d by t h i s
criterion.
Additional f a c t o r s which aided t r a d e unionism included p o l i t i c a l
p a r t y patronage, which was i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d v i a government s t r u c t u r e , and
the expansion of the economy through bauxite mining and manufacturing, thereby creating capitalist relations of production, which generated conditions
for the further growth of an industrial working class. The next question
asks, how were female workers incorporated into this stream of events?
There is little doubt that women were participants in all of the
developmental stages of trade unionism in Jamaica. For example, Aggie
Bernard has been honored by
Jamaica
as an exemplary citizen for her
activist role in the 1938 uprisings. Miss Edith Nelson, vice president
of the BITU, is another woman who has spent her life working in that
labor organization. However, if one turns to the numerous articles and
books on the history or events of trade unionism in Jamaica, rarely does
one encounter the presence of women as members,or female participation in
movement. Those familiar with the Caribbean will find that situation of
little surprise, based on a multitude of factors which cannot be addressed
in this paper. On the other hand, there is one factor which can be
examined here, which will be beneficial to a general understanding of the
issue of female rank and file membership, that is, the development of
an industrial female working class.
One advantage of the capitalist development of the Jamaican economy,
since the late 1940s, has been that it created the conditions necessary
for the growth of the female industrial working class. Increases in the
number of working class women occurred primarily via the expansion of the
manufacturing sector. There, working class women were employed in a sector
resultant of heavy foreign capital investment, outside of agriculture.
Moreover, a number of trade union officials agree that women's employment
in factory work made it easier for them to locate and organize female
workers.
Women f a c t o r y workers, occupying p o s i t i o s i n s e r v i c e , craftmen
o r u n s k i l l e d manual l a b o r c a t e g o r i e s i n 1978 represented 15 percent (15,500)
of t h e e n t i r e female working c l a s s .
f a c t t h a t a t h i r d of t h e
I t i s important t o keep i n mind t h e
-7female labor f o r c e were self-employed.
Therefore, t h e female working c l a s s
i n Jamaica has eluded t h e organizing t a c t i c s of many "blanketl'trade unions
by t h e l o c a t i o n of t h e i r place of work, i . e . , i n p r i v a t e homes, a s domestic
helpers, and a s independent a g r i c u l t u r a l i s t s and a s h i g g l e r s .
Moreover,
those working c l a s s female i n d u s t r i a l workers who were organized were found
i n labor-intensive,"foot loose1' (able t o a r b i t r a r i l y abandon shop with e a s e ) ,
"screw driver" (concerned with secondary production of semi-finished goods)
firms
--owned o u t r i g h t by m u l t i n a t i o n a l s o r financed by foreign c a p i t a l ,
and dependent on imported ocmponents and raw m a t e r i a l s .
Accordingly, it was
under those kinds of employment circumstance t h a t t h e 127 female i n d u s t r i a l
employees here were contacted during t h e research period.
Introductions between researcher and workers were made v i a t r a d e union
o f f i c i a l s and shop d e l e g a t e s .
In addition, s p e c i f i c f a c t o r i e s were i d e n t i -
f i e d by t r a d e union o f f i c e r s a s work l o c a l e s employing l a r g e numbers of
female f a c t o r y workers.
Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , most o f t h o s e f a c t o r i e s were food,
tobacco, and garment concerns--all very secondary i n d u s t r i e s , and very labor
intensive.
WORKING CLASS FEMALE RANK AND FILE
The following i s a b r i e f socioeconomic d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e women workers,
and w i l l serve a s background d a t a f o r t h e subsequent discussion on t r a d e
union a c t i v i t i e s .
Each of t h e 127 women workers r e p r e s e n t s an individual
household,(thus, 127 d i f f e r e n t households a r e represented).
When categorized
by t h e m a r i t a l s t a t u s of t h e respondent, 19 households were represented by
l e g a l l y married women, and 33 households were represented by women i n commonlaw unions.
Fifty-two (52) households were represented by women i n v i s i t i n g
unions ( i n which t h e p a r t n e r s involved have separate residences, but v i s i t
each o t h e r on a r e g u l a r b a s i s ) .
And 23 households were headed by respondents
who were t h e s o l e supporters of t h e i r households.
Represented i n a composite
group, t h e s e included widows, separated married and consensual p a r t n e r s , and
those without c u r r e n t boyfriends.
households of about 5 persons.
The majority of a l l t h e s e women l i v e d i n
For many t h e primary f i n a n c i a l r e s p o n s i b i i t y
f o r t h e household f e l l t o t h e woman worker, depending upon her m a r i t a l s t a t u s ,
and t h e household composition.
That i s , households with more than one wage
earner o f t e n had shared o b l i g a t i o n s .
Most of t h e s e working c l a s s women
(N=92) had only a primary education.
More than h a l f of t h e group were born
and/or r a i s e d i n r u r a l Jamaica and had migrated t o t h e Kingston Metropolitan
Area a s teenagers o r young a d u l t s .
More than h a l f of t h e women entered wage labor between t h e ages of 15
and 19.
Twenty-seven percent of t h e s e women began f u l l - t i m e work i n t h e i r
e a r l y twenties, while eleven percent entered t h e work f o r c e a f t e r t h e age
of twenty-five.
The kinds of job i n which they were f i r s t employed depended
on l o c a t i o n - - r u r a l o r urban--,
and a v a i l a b l e o p p o r t u n i t i e s .
An equal number
of women had e i t h e r never before worked on a f u l l - t i m e b a s i s (N=60) o r had
been previously engaged i n f u l l - t i m e jobs (N=60).
Some of t h e types of
previous employment included f a c t o r y work, domestic s e r v i c e and o t h e r kinds
of s e r v i c e work.
The average work h i s t o r y f o r t h e s e women a t t h e i r current
f a c t o r y job was seven years, with a number having spent over t e n years a t
t h e same place of work.
Of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t i s t h e f a c t t h a t of t h e 127,
only 23 were performing a d i f f e r e n t kind of job than t h e i r f i r s t p o s i t i o n
a t t h e i r present work p l a c e .
Most workers had i n i t i a l l y found t h e i r jobs
through f r e i n d s and r e l a t i v e s .
The average weekly wage of t h i s group of
4
women workers was J$68.00 (US$38.42).
During t h e research period, t h e
median weekly wage f o r women was J$26.93 and men received J$33.33 (Dept. of
S t a t i s t i c s , Jamaica 1979:~).
Clearly, by comparison, t h e wage t h e s e 127
workers received made them monetarily b e t t e r o f f than many o t h e r s i n
Jamaica.
There a r e 16 firms included here:
6 multinationals; 3 j o i n t ventures
( l o c a l and f o r e i g n ownership); 6 l o c a l firms and 1 p l a n t owned by t h e government.
Eleven of t h e 16 were located i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l
parks e s t a b l i s h e d
i n t h e 1950s
by t h e government as a f e a t u r e i n t h e i r recruitment i n c e n t i v e package/. A l l
of these manufacturers were s u b j e c t t o t h e c o l l e c t i v e bargaining process,
5
The organizing a c t i v i t y of t h e s e
with t r a d e unions representing workers.
unions was not welcomed by a l l firms involved.
In f a c t , during t h e research,
t h e employees of two firms were out on s t r i k e f o r b e t t e r wages and working
conditions.
Of t h e t h r e e t r a d e unions mentioned
,
t h e TUC had t h e l a r g e s t representa-
t i o n i n t h i s research; nine firms, eighty-two workers.
Second i n s i z e was
t h e NWU; f i v e f a c t o r i e s , s i x t e e n workers.
And t h i r d i n t h e number of e n t e r 6
p r i s e s represented was t h e BITU; two firms, twenty-nine workers.
Next,
t h e n a t u r e of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s between those unions and t h e female indust r i a l workers..will be explored.
TRADE UNION ACTIVITIES
I t has been suggested by a number of workers and observers of t h e t r a d e
union movement i n Jamaica t h a t organizers a r e not i n t e r e s t e d i n expanding
t h e i r female rank-and-file membership.
The ethnographer asked o f f i c e r s from
each t r a d e union involved i n t h e study i f t h i s was t h e case.
Most of t h e
o f f i c e r s denied such accusations, and placed t h e blame of t h e female workers
themselves.
Women were preoccupied with c h i l d r e n and making dinner f o r
t h e family, s o they never attended meetings, one o f f i c e r answered.
According
t o t h e response o f t h e 127 women here, f o r t y percent attended meetings,
with about a q u a r t e r of them making a r e g u l a r appearance.
Although many of
t h e women commented t h a t t h e y d i d have t h e tendency t o a t t e n d meetings only
during a c r i s i s o r f o r an important v o t e , t h e same t h i n g could be s a i d f o r
a l l other (i.e.,
male) workers.
One o f t h e p r o j e c t s t h a t a l l t h r e e t r a d e unions had undertaken during
t h e r e s e a r c h period was t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n of seminars on family l i f e f o r
t h e i r rank and f i l e .
The p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h o s e seminars by women workers
was l e s s than expected.
better
A purpose o f t h e s e s s i o n s was t o t e a c h workers
ways t o budget household expenses, keep a h e a l t h y m a r i t a l r e l a t i o n ,
and t o maintain a p o s i t i v e frame of mind.
These seminars were sponsored
by t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Labor Organization, i n conjunction with t h e Trade Union
Education I n s t i t u t e (TUEI) of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of t h e West I n d i e s , Mona.
Of
a l l t h e women sampled, only s i x t e e n p e r c e n t had ever attended a seminar.
Reasons f o r t h e low p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e f o r female workers were two-fold.
One reason:
was based on t h e l a c k of funds of t r a d e unions t o have morz
seminars t o r e a c h a l a r g e r group o f workers, and, secondly, because seminars
w e Fr e h e l d o n Saturdays (a prime housework day) many women could n o t a t t e n d .
Another kind o f seminar o f f e r e d t o d e l e g a t e s (shop stewards) was a monthlong, d a i l y workshop sponsored by t h e TUEI.
There, d e l e g a t e s were taught
t h e f i n e r p o i n t s o f t r a d e unionism, bargaining s t r a t e g i e s and economics.
Delegates from a l l over t h e i s l a n d were s e l e c t e d by t h e i r t r a d e unions t o
a t t e n d t h i s workshop.
Those workers from o u t s i d e Kingston were boarded a t
t h e TUEI guest rooms.
A l l worker p a r t i c i p a n t s received t h e i r f u l l pay while
t h e y took p a r t i n t h e s e s e s s i o n s .
t h e r e was a ceremony f o r graduates.
An exam was given a f t e r t h e course, and
During t h e r e s e a r c h p e r i o d , one woman
delegate p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h i s study graduated from t h e TUEI workshop.
Of t h e s i x t e e n firms, eleven had women a s d e l e g a t e s t o t h e t r a d e union.
Most firms had both male and female delegates, each representing t h e workers
along sex and job l i n e s .
There were no d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e sex of t h e shop
delegate according towhether t h e p l a n t was owned by a l o c a l concern, MNC o r
j o i n t venture.
Since p o s i t i o n s i n f a c t o r i e s a r e segretated by sex, t h e
female delegate represented only
, women,
but a l s o a c e r t a i n work process.
For example, i n a paper f a c t o r y , only women were operators, thus t h e woman
delegate was an operator.
When asked if a man could adequately represent
t h e needs of female workers, only eleven percent of t h e e n t i r e group (N=14)
r e p l i e d t h a t he could not.
Twenty-nine women s t a t e d t h a t a man could
represent a women, 23 said "it depends", and 24 suggested t h a t t h e r e should
be a man and a woman a s delegates.
The following d e s c r i b e s some of t h e
i s s u e s which were most important f o r t h e s e women f a c t o r y workers.
There one testament t o t h e help t h a t t h e t r a d e unions had provided t h e s e
workers--better pay.
Over h a l f (N=66) of t h e women indicated t h a t a "pay
r a i s e " was t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t thing t h e t r a d e union had done form them.
Second i n importance f o r t h e s e women was b e t t e r working conditions.
Twenty-
two percent (N=28) a t t r i b u t e d t h e i r b e t t e r working conditions t o t h e e f f o r t s
of t h e t r a d e union.
Following a s a d i s t a n t t h i r d were f r i n g e b e n e f i t s .
Only eleven percent (N=14) c i t e d medical, insurance and o t h e r b e n e f i t s a s
a s p e c i a l c r e d i t t o t h e i r labor organization.
Four women could not decide
i n what a r e a t h e t r a d e union had helped t h e most, so they r e p l i e d "everything".
Also, four women l i s t e d "nothing i n p a r t i c u l a r 1 a s t h e i r answer--neutral.
An attempt was made t o a s c e r t a i n i n what a r e a s t h e t r a d e union could
perform b e t t e r .
In response, f o r t y percent (N=52) again r e f e r r e d t o " b e t t e r
pay".
Once more, a s a second concern, twenty two percent (N=28) r e f e r e d t o
b e t t e r working conditions, while f i f t e e n percent (N=19) sought more f r i n g e
benefits.
Three a d d i t i o n a l a r e a s were suggested which t r a d e union could t a k e p a r t
i n , and t h e s e r e l a t e d t o t h e economic conditions i n Jamaica a t t h e time.
Eleven percent (N=14) of t h e women were concerned with job s e c u r i t y .
Of
t h e fourteen, 9 were garment workers, e i g h t of whom were l a i d o f f a t t h e
time t h e question was asked.
Three women thought t h a t t h e t r a d e union
should be a c t i v e i n c r e a t i n g jobs.
And, four women sought help from t h e
t r a d e union i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n problems.
Transport t o and from work was
posing a problem f o r a number of women workers because t h e bus system was
r a p i d l y d e t e r i o r a t i n g due t o t h e lack of spare p a r t s a v a i l a b l e , e t c . , which
was i n t u r n due t o t h e n a t i o n a l f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s .
Trade unions could
serve a s pressure groups t o speed t h e r e s o l u t i o n of t h e bus t r a n s p o r t a t i o n
problem.
,
In essence, t h e s e women had had t h e most p r a i s e f o r t h e i r t r a d e unions
on t h r e e issues--pay,
working conditions and f r i n g e b e n e f i t s .
However,
those same i s s u e s were t h e ones f o r which t h e women wanted t o see even
more a s s i s t a n c e from t h e i r t r a d e unions a s provisos i n c o n t r a c t s .
How t h e s e
labor organizations attempted t o s a t i s f y t h e i r rank-and-file membership was
a l s o an i s s u e , and whether o r not t h e e f f o r t s of t h e organizations were
viewed a s s u f f i c i e n t by t h e s e members depended on p e r s o n a l i t i e s and c o n f l i c t s
between p a r t i e s involved.
For example, t h e r e appeared t o be a very strong f e e l i n g of confidence i n
t h e union o f f i c e r who i n i t i a l l y organize t h e work p l a c e by t h e rank and f i l e .
When individual organizers handed over shops t o t h e charge of o t h e r s , workers
f e l t betrayed.
Thus, numerous accounts existed t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t "when
M r . So and So took c a r e of t h e union here, t h i n g s were d i f f e r e n t . "
CONCLUSION
Because p o l i t i c s and labor organizations i n Jamaica a r e profoundly
linked, organizers do pay a t t e n t i o n t o workers' demands.
Since t h e s e
women were members of t r a d e union, they expected t h e s e organization t o work
for t h e i r benefit.
However, t h e l e v e l of response from organizers was
constrained f o r a number of reasons.
F i r s t , s i n c e most organizers were men,
t h e i r general tendency was t o denigrate t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n of women a s
responsible rank-and-file members.
Often t h i s took p l a c e subconsciously,
a s organizers had t h e b e s t i n t e n t i o n s f o r a l l workers r i g h t s i n t h e i r
foremost thoughts.
Organizers made various excuses f o r t h e lack of women
members, and a s c e r t a i n i n g t h e seriousness of t h e problem was complicated
by membership l i s t s which did not i d e n t i f y members by sex.
Furthermore,
organizers had not made a concentrated e f f o r t t o question t h e f a c t t h a t
c e r t a i n jobs were categorized a s male and other a s female, with correspondingly unequal pay s c a l e s .
Secondly, on t h e other hand
, t r a d e unions were a t a disadvantage
s i m i l a r t o t h a t of t h e i r counterparts i n t h e U.S. Northeast.
When produc-
t i o n ceases, when bankruptcy occurs, o r r e l o c a t i o n eliminates employment
(union shops), what can organized labor do i n response, beside n e g o t i a t e
severance pay?
This s i t u a t i o n occurs most o f t e n during phases of high
unemployment, which show no sign
of curbing a s a labor f o r c e t r e n d .
In
Jamaica, t h e working c l a s s female i n d u s t r i a l labor f o r c e was a t a g r e a t
disadvantage, given t h e i r high concentration i n fffootlooselfshops.
NOTES
1.
Fieldwork r e s e a r c h was conducted over an eighteen month period--1978-79-i n Kingston, Jamaica. Sponsored by an Inter-American Foundation pred o c t o r a t e fellowship and NIMH #1F31MH 07990-01 research award. I am
indebted t o a l l those involved i n t h e r e s e a r c h endeavor, e s p e c i a l l y t h e
127 women f a c t o r y workers and t h e i r households.
2.
In 1976, t h e r e were 43 r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e unions i n Jamaica and 9 employer
a s s o c i a t i o n s . These numbers include blanket unions, farmers, profess i o n a l and c r a f t organizations. This paper s p e c i f i c a l l y does not address
t h e s t a t e of women i n professional o r c r a f t c o l l e c t i v e bargaining groups,
such a s t h e Jamaica Teachers Association.
3.
The 4Hs--trade unio&ts and p o l i t i c a l activists--were Richard Hart,
Ken H i l l , Frank H i l l and Arthur Henry. I n 1942, t h e c o l o n i a l s t a t e
chaxged t h e 4Hs with "dissemination of extreme revolutionary doctrines."
The charge exaggerated t h e p o l i t i c a l education work t h a t Ken H i l l and
h i s fellow progressives began i n t h e TUC and PNP (see Munroe 1977).
4.
Exchange r a t e uses J$1.00 = US$1.77.
5.
"A t r d e union i s defined a s a continuous a s s o c i a t i o n made up of
p r i m a r i l y wage e a r n e r s who use c o l l e c t i v e labour power mainly t o improve
t h e i r wages and working conditions."
(Gonsalves 1977:89.)
6.
The exact number of women t r a d e union members cannot be given because
t h e membership l i s t s of individual organizations u s u a l l y do not
designate sex, and o f t e h i n i t i a l s a r e u t i l i z e d which f u r t h e r d i s g u i s e s
t h e sex of a member.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOLLES, A. Lynn (1981) The Impact o f Working Class Women's Employment on
Household O r g a n i z a t i o n i n Kingston, Jamaica. Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n i n
Anthropology, Rutgers U n i v e r s i t y .
GONSALVES, Ralph (1.977) "The Trade Union Movement i n Jamaica: I t s Growth
and Some Resultant Proglems," Essays on Power and Cange i n Jamaica,
e d i t e d by Stone and Brown, pp. 89-105. Kingston Jamaica: Jamaica
P u b l i s h i n g House.
JAMAICA, THE GOVERNMENT.
Abstract.
DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS (1979)
Statistical
MUNROE, Trevor (1977) The Marxist ' Left ' i n Jamiaca 1940-1950. Working
Paper No. 15, I n s t i t u t e f o r S o c i a l and Economic Research, U n i v e r s i t y
of t h e West I n d i e s , Mona, Jamaica.
PHELPS, O.W.
(1960) "Rise of t h e Labour Movement i n Jamaica,"
Economic S t u d i e s , 9:4 :417-467.
S o c i a l and