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.