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, the organized labor movement i n Jamaica has been such an

i n f l uen t i a l force t ha t it has d ic ta ted the course of events i n t he country 's

soc ia l and p o l i t i c a l spheres and , f requent ly , 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 pa r ty a f f i l i a t e s , a r e so dominant i n t he

Jamaican soc ia l system t h a t t h e i r influence tends t o obscure the f a c t t ha t

organized labor, i n i t s e l f , represents a r e l a t i v e l y small proportion of t he

working population (see Gonsalves 1977). In addi t ion, desp i te the high

r a t e of female labor force pa r t i c ipa t i on in Jamaica, women have a low leve l

of t rade union membership (personal communications, s t a f f member, t r ade

union) . And, although women in general a r e ac t ive and

numerically strong i n the work force, they tend t o be under-represented i n

t r ade 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 rade un ion is t s most of ten do not occupy decision-making posi t ions .

The purpose of t h i s paper i s two-fold. F i r s t , it w i l l examine some working c l a s s

of t h e f ac to r s which have led t o the low level 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 he s i t ua t i on of a group of women who a r e rank and f i l e t rade union

members. Data fo r t h i s example group was col lected 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 th ree prominent t rade

unions--Bustamante Indus t r i a l Trade Union (BITU), National Workers Union 2

(NWU), and the Trade Union Congress of Jamaica (TUC) . The guiding theme of t h i s paper takes i n to consideration t he i n f l uen t i a l

nature of t rade unionism in Jamaica and the necess i ty f o r women t o be

incorporated i n to t he movement on a l l organizational l eve l s , including

rank and f i l e . A t present, the re is 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 current female t rade un ion is t s i n gaining

t h e t o o l s necessary t o assume pos i t ions of g rea te r au thor i ty and leader-

ship within t h e i r organizations. I t i s e s sen t i a l f o r those women presen t ly

ac t i ve i n organized labor, t o be able t o r i s e above the pa r t i c ipa to ry

l eve l of 'ldonkey workt1, i . e . , s e c r e t a r i a l and a s s i s t a n t pos i t ions without

r e a l power, e t c . Moreover, it i s a l s o c ruc i a l t ha t women t rade un ion is t s

form strong l i n e s of communication between themselves and t he rank and f i l e

female membership. This paper hopes t o contr ibute t o those object ives , the J o i n t Trade Union's Research Development Center

which a r e designed by/

TRADE UNIONISM AND WOMEN WORKERS

Prior t o examining female pa r t i c ipa t i on i n t rade unions, a general,

very b r i e f h i s t o ry of the labor movement i n Jamaica must be presented.

Gonsalves (1977) notes t he following four phases i n t he development of the

t rade union movement i n Jamaica. The f i r s t phase begins in 1919 with the

passage of t he Trade Union Law, which allowed workers t o organize without

being subject t o criminal pena l t i es . However, it was not u n t i l 1938 (the

end of t he f i r s t phase) t ha t a law was passed which granted workers the

l ega l r i g h t t o engage i n peaceful picketing. The r i g h t t o peaceful p ro t e s t

was an outcome fo the 1938 r i o t s , a s was the establishment of the Royal

commission t o inves t iga te t he causes f o r those disturbances. As the laws

and p o l i t i c a l apparatus of the 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 ruc tu r e of t h e is land, the groundwork

f o r fu r ther development of t rade unionism was a l so es tabl ished.

Here it must be noted t h a t one of the important r e s u l t s of the 1938

r i o t s was t h a t r u r a l and unski l led workers drew a t t en t i on 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 he t h i r d

s tage of t rade 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 unski l led

workers were not attuned t o t he d i s c ip l i ne and importance of t rade unionism.

When t h e events of 1938 a r e taken i n to account, we can see t h a t the conscious-

ness of workers has been ra i sed t o a level su f f i c i en t f o r g rea te r organized

labor a c t i v i t y . Thus, t he s i t ua t i on i s resolved several years l a t e r , when

between 1942 and 1949, union membership included 55 percent of the working

c lass , 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 pa r t i cu l a r unions, i . e . , BITU and t he Jamaica Labour Party (under Alexander

Bustamante), the TUC and the People 's National Party (under Norman Manley).

This s i t ua t i on added a new dimension t o organized labor i n t he island--

strong unionism equaled p o l i t i c a l power. In 1944, Jamaica was granted

universal adu l t sufferage. In the 1949 e lec t ions , the Jamaica Labour Party

won the most s ea t s i n parliament, while the People's National Party earned

t he majori ty i n popular vote.

In t he period from 1950-52, another important episode t o t h i s t h i r d

s tage ~f t rade union development occured. With the

i n t ens i f i c a t i on of union r i v a l r y between t h e BITU and the-TUC, in te rna l

power plays divided the membership of the TUC and i t s p o l i t i c a l party--PNP.

3 The i s sue came t o a head when t he TUC leadership of the 4Hs was challenged

by i t s moderate members over questions of in te rna t iona l a f f i l i a t i o n - -

p ro - cap i t a l i s t , o r p ro - soc i a l i s t . Soon a f t e r , t h e 4Hs were expelled from

the PNP, which viewed t h e i r progressive ( i . e . , s o c i a l i s t ) ideology a s

incompatible t o t h e membership of the pa r ty . In 1952, a new t r ade union,

t h e National Worker's Union (NWU) led by Michael Manley (Norman's son)

was formed not only t o combat i t s r i v a l union, t he BITU, but a l so t o

a s s i s t i n el iminating the power of t he 4Hs. In i t s f i r s t th ree years

(1952-55) t he membership of t he NWU was almost equal with t h a t of the TUC.

By 1956, however, t h e NWU's membership had increased t o near ly 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 the BITU, which

had 46,600 members (Gonsalves 1977:96).

This s i t u a t i o n br ings t he four th and f i n a l s tage of t r ade union devel-

opment i n t o focus--1956 t o Independence (1962). During t h a t period, the

NWU gained predominance over the TUC on t h e ba s i s of McCarthyism (an t i -

communism) and t he PNPts success i n the 1956 e lec t ion . The NWU and t he

BITU became the major unions, and the 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, de sp i t e t he 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 t h e "essen t ia l se rv ices . I t Gonsalves (1977: 97) s t a t e s t h a t the 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

unionizat ion i n order t o maintain i n d u s t r i a l peace, so long a s the unions

were "responsiblett--BITU and NWU were general ly deemed qua l i f i ed by t h i s

c r i t e r i o n . Additional f a c to r s which aided t r ade unionism included p o l i t i c a l

pa r t y patronage, which was i n s t i t u t i ona l i z ed v i a government s t r uc tu r e , and

the expansion of the economy through bauxite mining and manufacturing, there-

by 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 fac to ry workers, occupying p o s i t i o s i n service , craftmen

o r unski l led manual labor ca tegor ies i n 1978 represented 15 percent (15,500)

of t he e n t i r e female working c l a s s . I t i s important t o keep i n mind t he

f a c t t h a t a t h i r d of the

-7-

female labor force were self-employed. Therefore, the female working c l a s s

i n Jamaica has eluded the organizing t a c t i c s of many "blanketl ' trade unions

by t he locat ion of t h e i r place of work, i . e . , i n p r iva te 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 higglers . Moreover,

those working c l a s s female i ndus 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 ease) ,

"screw driver" (concerned with secondary production of semi-finished goods)

firms --owned ou t r igh t by mul t inat ionals o r financed by foreign cap i t a l ,

and dependent on imported ocmponents and raw mater ia ls . Accordingly, it was

under those kinds of employment circumstance t h a t the 127 female i ndus t r i a l

employees here were contacted during the research period.

Introductions between researcher and workers were made v i a t rade union

o f f i c i a l s and shop delegates . In addit ion, spec i f i c f a c t o r i e s were iden t i -

f i e d by t rade union o f f i c e r s a s work loca les employing la rge numbers of

female fac tory workers. Not surpr is ingly , most o f t hose f ac to r i e s were food,

tobacco, and garment concerns--all very secondary indus t r i es , and very labor

in tensive .

WORKING CLASS FEMALE RANK AND FILE

The following i s a b r i e f socioeconomic descr ipt ion of the women workers,

and w i l l serve a s background data f o r the subsequent discussion on t rade

union a c t i v i t i e s . Each of t he 127 women workers represents an individual

household,(thus, 127 d i f f e r en t households a r e represented). When categorized

by t he mar i ta l s t a t u s of t he respondent, 19 households were represented by

l ega l l y married women, and 33 households were represented by women i n common-

law unions. Fifty-two (52) households were represented by women i n v i s i t i n g

unions ( i n which the par tners involved have separate residences, but v i s i t

each other on a regular bas i s ) . And 23 households were headed by respondents

who were t he so le supporters of t h e i r households. Represented i n a composite

group, these included widows, separated married and consensual par tners , and

those without current boyfriends. The majori ty of a l l these women l ived i n

households of about 5 persons. For many the primary f inanc ia l respons ib i i ty

f o r the household f e l l t o t he woman worker, depending upon her mar i ta l s t a tu s ,

and t he household composition. That i s , households with more than one wage

earner o f ten had shared obl igat ions . Most of these working c l a s s women

(N=92) had only a primary education. More than half of the group were born

and/or ra i sed i n r u r a l Jamaica and had migrated t o the Kingston Metropolitan

Area a s teenagers o r young adu l t s .

More than half of t he women entered wage labor between the ages of 15

and 19. Twenty-seven percent of these women began ful l - t ime work i n t h e i r

e a r l y twenties, while eleven percent entered t he work force a f t e r t he age

of twenty-five. The kinds of job in which they were f i r s t employed depended

on locat ion--rural o r urban--, and ava i lab le opportuni t ies . An equal number

of women had e i t h e r never before worked on a ful l - t ime bas i s (N=60) o r had

been previously engaged i n fu l l - t ime jobs (N=60). Some of the types of

previous employment included fac tory work, domestic service and other kinds

of service work. The average work h i s t o ry f o r these women a t t h e i r current

fac to ry job was seven years, with a number having spent over t en years a t

t he same place of work. Of pa r t i cu l a r i n t e r e s t i s t he f a c t t ha t of the 127,

only 23 were performing a d i f f e r en t kind of job than t h e i r f i r s t posi t ion

a t t h e i r present work place . Most workers had i n i t i a l l y found t h e i r jobs

through f re inds and r e l a t i ve s . The average weekly wage of t h i s group of 4

women workers was J$68.00 (US$38.42). During t he research period, the

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 he wage these 127

workers received made them monetarily be t t e r o f f than many o thers i n

Jamaica.

There a r e 16 firms included here: 6 mult inationals; 3 j o in t ventures

( local and foreign ownership); 6 loca l firms and 1 p lan t owned by the govern-

ment. Eleven of the 16 were located i n t he i ndus t r i a l parks es tabl ished i n t he 1950s

by the government as a fea ture i n t h e i r recruitment incent ive package/. A l l

of these manufacturers were subject t o the co l l ec t i ve bargaining process, 5

with t rade unions representing workers. The organizing a c t i v i t y of these

unions was not welcomed by a l l f irms involved. In f a c t , during the research,

the employees of two firms were out on s t r i k e f o r be t t e r wages and working

condit ions.

Of the th ree t rade unions mentioned , the TUC had t h e l a rge 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 ve f ac to r i e s , s ix teen workers. And t h i r d i n t he number of enter- 6

p r i s e s represented was t he BITU; two firms, twenty-nine workers. Next,

t he nature of the re la t ionsh ips between those unions and t he female indus-

t r i a l workers..will be explored.

TRADE UNION ACTIVITIES

I t has been suggested by a number of workers and observers of the t rade

union movement i n Jamaica t h a t organizers a r e not in te res ted i n expanding

t h e i r female rank-and-fi le membership. The ethnographer asked o f f i c e r s from

each t r ade union involved i n t he study i f t h i s was the case. Most of t he

o f f i c e r s denied such accusations, and placed t he blame of the female workers

themselves. Women were preoccupied with chi ldren and making dinner fo r

the family, so 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 at tended meetings,

with about a quar t e r of them making a r egu la r appearance. Although many of

t h e women commented t h a t they d id 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 vote , the same th ing could be sa id f o r

a l l o t h e r ( 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 sea rch period was t h e p resen ta t ion 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 those seminars by women workers

was l e s s than expected. A purpose o f t h e sess ions was t o t each workers

b e t t e r ways t o budget household expenses, keep a heal thy 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 Organizat ion, i n conjunction with t h e Trade Union

Education I n s t i t u t e (TUEI) of t h e Univers i ty of t h e West Indies , Mona. O f

a l l t h e women sampled, only s ix teen percent had ever at tended 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 lack of funds of t r a d e unions t o have morz

seminars t o reach a l a r g e r group o f workers, and, secondly, because seminars

werehe ldon Saturdays (a prime housework day) many women could no t a t t end . F

Another kind o f seminar of fered t o de lega tes (shop stewards) was a month-

long, d a i l y workshop sponsored by t h e TUEI. There, de lega tes were taught

the 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 and were se lec ted 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 ou t s ide 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

they took p a r t i n these sess ions . An exam was given a f t e r the course, and

t h e r e was a ceremony f o r graduates. During t h e r e sea rch per iod , one woman

delegate pa r t i c ipa t i ng i n t h i s study graduated from t h e TUEI workshop.

Of t he s ixteen firms, eleven had women a s delegates t o the t rade union.

Most f irms had both male and female delegates, each representing the workers

along sex and job l i ne s . There were no di f ferences i n t he sex of the shop

delegate according towhether the plant was owned by a local concern, MNC or

j o in t venture. Since pos i t ions i n f ac to r i e s a r e segretated by sex, the

female delegate represented only , women, but a l so a ce r t a in work process.

For example, i n a paper factory, only women were operators, thus the woman

delegate was an operator. When asked if a man could adequately represent

t he needs of female workers, only eleven percent of t he e n t i r e group (N=14)

rep l ied t h a t he could not. Twenty-nine women s ta ted t h a t a man could

represent a women, 23 said "it depends", and 24 suggested t h a t the re should

be a man and a woman a s delegates. The following descr ibes some of the

issues which were most important f o r these women fac tory workers.

There one testament t o t h e help t h a t the t rade unions had provided these

workers--better pay. Over hal f (N=66) of t he women indicated t h a t a "pay

ra i se" was t he most s ign i f ican t thing the t rade union had done form them.

Second i n importance f o r these women was be t t e r working condit ions. Twenty-

two percent (N=28) a t t r i bu t ed t h e i r b e t t e r working condit ions t o the e f f o r t s

of t he t rade union. Following a s a d i s t a n t t h i r d were f r inge benef i ts .

Only eleven percent (N=14) c i t e d medical, insurance and other benef i t s a s

a specia 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 rea t he t rade union had helped t he most, so they rep l ied "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 ascer ta in i n what areas the t rade union could

perform be t t e r . In response, f o r t y percent (N=52) again re fe r red t o "bet ter

pay". Once more, a s a second concern, twenty two percent (N=28) refered 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 nge

benef i t s .

Three addi t ional areas were suggested which t rade union could take pa r t

in , and these r e l a t ed t o the economic condit ions i n Jamaica a t the time.

Eleven percent (N=14) of t he women were concerned with job secur i ty . Of

t h e fourteen, 9 were garment workers, e ight of whom were l a id o f f a t the

time t he question was asked. Three women thought t h a t t he t rade union

should be ac t i ve i n creat ing jobs. And, four women sought help from the

t rade union i n t ranspor ta t ion problems. Transport t o and from work was

posing a problem f o r a number of women workers because the bus system was

rap id ly de te r io ra t ing due t o t h e lack of spare p a r t s avai lable , e t c . , which

was i n t u rn due t o t he nat ional f inanc ia l c r i s i s . Trade unions could

serve a s pressure groups t o speed the reso lu t ion of the bus t ranspor ta t ion

problem. ,

In essence, these women had had t he most p r a i s e f o r t h e i r t r ade unions

on th ree issues--pay, working condit ions and f r inge benef i t s . However,

those same i s sues were t h e ones f o r which the women wanted t o see even

more ass i s tance from t h e i r t r ade unions a s provisos i n contracts . How these

labor organizations attempted t o s a t i s f y t h e i r rank-and-file membership was

a l so an issue, and whether o r not the e f f o r t s of the organizations were

viewed a s su f f i c i en t by these members depended on pe r sona l i t i e s and con f l i c t s

between p a r t i e s involved.

For example, the re appeared t o be a very strong fee l ing of confidence i n

t he union o f f i c e r who i n i t i a l l y organize the work place by the rank and f i l e .

When individual organizers handed over shops t o t he charge of o thers , workers

f e l t betrayed. Thus, numerous accounts existed t o the e f f ec t t ha t "when

M r . So and So took care of the union here, th ings were d i f f e r en t . "

CONCLUSION

Because p o l i t i c s and labor organizations i n Jamaica a r e profoundly

l inked, organizers do pay a t t en t i on t o workers' demands. Since these

women were members of t rade union, they expected these organization t o work

f o r t h e i r benef i t . However, the l eve l of response from organizers was

constrained f o r a number of reasons. F i r s t , s ince most organizers were men,

t h e i r general tendency was t o denigrate the par t i c ipa t ion of women a s

responsible rank-and-file members. Often t h i s took place subconsciously,

a s organizers had the best in ten t ions 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 the lack of women

members, and ascer ta ining t h e seriousness of t he problem was complicated

by membership l i s ts which did not i den t i fy 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 in jobs were categorized a s male and other a s female, with correspon-

dingly unequal pay scales .

Secondly, on t he other hand , t r ade unions were a t a disadvantage

s imi la 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, or re locat ion el iminates employment

(union shops), what can organized labor do i n response, beside negot ia te

severance pay? This s i t ua t i on occurs most of ten during phases of high

unemployment, which show no sign of curbing a s a labor force t rend. In

Jamaica, t h e working c l a s s female i ndus t r i a l labor force was a t a g rea t

disadvantage, given t h e i r high concentration i n fffootlooself shops.

NOTES

1. Fieldwork research was conducted over an eighteen month period--1978-79-- i n Kingston, Jamaica. Sponsored by an Inter-American Foundation pre- doctorate fellowship and NIMH #1F31MH 07990-01 research award. I am indebted t o a l l those involved i n t h e research endeavor, espec ia l ly t h e 127 women fac tory workers and t h e i r households.

2 . In 1976, the re were 43 reg i s te red t rade unions i n Jamaica and 9 employer associa t ions . These numbers include blanket unions, farmers, profes- s iona l and c r a f t organizations. This paper spec i f i c a l l y does not address the s t a t e of women i n professional o r c r a f t co l l e c t i ve bargaining groups, such a s the 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. In 1942, the colonia l s t a t e chaxged t h e 4Hs with "dissemination of extreme revolutionary doctrines." The charge exaggerated t he 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 he 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 is defined a s a continuous associa t ion made up of pr imari ly wage earners who use co l l ec t i ve 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 rade union members cannot be given because t he membership l i s ts of individual organizations usual ly 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 fu r ther d isguises t he sex of a member.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOLLES, A. Lynn (1981) The Impact of Working Class Women's Employment on Household Organizat ion i n Kingston, Jamaica. Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n i n Anthropology, Rutgers Univers i ty .

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 Publishing House.

JAMAICA, THE GOVERNMENT. DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS (1979) S t a t i s t i c a l Abst rac t .

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 Soc ia l and Economic Research, Univers i ty of t h e West Indies , Mona, Jamaica.

PHELPS, O.W. (1960) "Rise of t h e Labour Movement i n Jamaica," Soc ia l and Economic Studies , 9:4 : 417-467.