MLSS CELEBRATES 80 YEARS OF THE LABOUR ADMINISTRATION IN JAMAICA
‘Preserving Our Legacy, Unfolding Progress’
With the end of the Apprenticeship period in the British Colonies, workers became more concerned and agitated by the poor working conditions, wages and harsh treatment by their colonial masters. This growing discontent amongst workers is documented in our history through the various labour riots in the late 1800s to 1938.
1938 was a bloodshed year for Jamaican workers. From April 29 to May 23 the Frome Riots in Westmoreland, Jamaica cost the lives of many workers who rose up in rebellion against what they considered unreasonable and oppressive working conditions. Some persons were imprisoned for their Rebel-like response of setting cane fields ablaze or hurling stones at the wage house in dissidence to low and unregulated wages.
Trouble on the Frome Estate, owned by the West Indies Sugar Company (a subsidiary of the British firm Tate and Lyle), began on the night of Friday, April 29, as workers who had been recently employed to work on the construction of a new factory lined up to receive their wages. A number of them complained of receiving a pay cut and descended on the pay office angrily demanding an explanation. A missile was thrown at the office and a window was smashed. Someone from within the office fired shots into the air in an attempt to disperse the workers, but only succeeded in enraging them. On the following day, the construction workers went on strike demanding better wages and better working conditions. In addition to being aggrieved about their wages, the workers also complained that the bosses were overbearing, and that many workers had to sleep in hammocks under sheds as they had no barracks.
When work resumed on Monday morning, violence erupted as the crowd attacked the office of the sugar factory with sticks and stones. When things settled, 3 men and 1 woman lay dead and 14 others were seriously injured (including one policeman). Many more received minor injuries. Sometime afterwards, the cane fields were set on fire and blazed for a few hours before being extinguished by the afternoon rain. Over 100 people were arrested on various charges.
May 23 is now recognized as Labour Day in commemoration
of the workers who fought for freedom of association and improved conditions of service. Workers’ Week is now celebrated each year during the third week of May, culminating on Labour Day.
MOYNE COMMISSION
The British government, of which Jamaica was a colony, was forced to recognize the prevalent social unrest and to investigate the labour conditions in the British West Indies. A series of commissions were sent out to investigate the social and economic conditions in the West Indies and report on labour conditions and the position of Labour Organizations. The most important of these commissions was the Moyne Commission, which spent fourteen (14) months in the British West Indies, interviewing the labourers from all sections of the society, including labourers and labour leaders and gathering other information to determine the cause for decadence.
The Commission’s final report recognized that labour laws were insufficient and that there was no mechanism in place to protect workers in conditions that were unsuitable. It found that medical services and education were inadequate and criticized colonial polices that allowed hunger, unemployment and disease to increase. Furthermore, there were no laws against the use of unsafe machinery or to prevent the exploitation of women and children; there were also no laws on workman’s compensation, sick leave, vacation or time off. Consequently, the Commission recommended that the British Government tackle the causes of poverty and discontent across the British West Indies and take action in three main areas: labour laws and the rights of trade unions; the West Indian economy; and democracy and self-government.