In the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the month of May focuses attention on workers with the commemoration of Labor Day, which in most countries is May 1, coinciding with International Labor Day.
There are exceptions, with Labor Day being May 23 in Jamaica, June 3 in The Bahamas, and June 19 in Trinidad and Tobago. Linked to this is Indian Arrival Day commemorated in May and June in various CARICOM countries as the labor shortage following Emancipation saw the introduction of the Indentured Labor Scheme which brought workers from Asia, primarily from India. The 1930s saw the birth of the trade union movement following labor unrest in several Caribbean countries.
Labor Day recalls the struggles of workers in the Caribbean for good working conditions and wages; celebrates their contribution to national and regional development, through innovation, production, distribution and consumption of good and services; enables reflection on the challenges still being faced by workers especially with the changes taking place in the global economy and in workplaces; and enables recommitment to attaining decent work for all through, among others, providing livable wages, improving health and safety at work, providing social protections, ensuring gender equality, curtailing child labor, and guaranteeing the right to assemble, and to collective bargaining.
There is still the objective of achieving Goal 8 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals on “decent work and economic growth” which is promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. This includes ongoing work on the Future of Work.
The last two years have been very difficult for workers around the world, including those in CARICOM, due to the COVID-19 pandemic which led to the reduction of economic activity, the loss of jobs, curtailed working hours, and reduced wages. In 2022, this is now aggravated by rising inflation worsened by a war in Europe.
Looking at various discussions and statements across the region to mark Labor Day indicates that all is not well in the workplace in CARICOM countries and there is a lot to be done in implementing the labor agenda.
Across the region, I gained the impression of division among some trade unions and diminished influence. Trade Unions have been under pressure around the world as there are employers/firms/governments seeking to curtail union activities and influence in support of workers.
In spite of the social partnership between government, workers and employers promoted by the International Labor Organization (ILO), there are those public and private sector employers who prefer not to have organized labor in order to keep wages low and limit benefits to reduce production costs. These are perpetuating the exploitation of labor. The ILO notes that union membership has been declining worldwide and union rights are being violated.
Regional Union Representation
In CARICOM, recognizing the importance of labor, especially in the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), the Caribbean Congress of Labor (CCL), which is a federation of Caribbean trade unions founded in 1960 and headquartered in Barbados, was invited to be an associate institution of the Community.
The CCL represents the interest of regional workers in the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and in the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD).
The problem is that in my research I am not able to find information showing much current activity by this 62-year-old organization. This leaves me to wonder how well organized and resourced is the CCL, which allows it to be engaged with its members, the CARICOM organs, and, at the international level, with the ILO, including its Caribbean office, and the World Federation of Trade Unions.
This is a time in which workers in the CARICOM region, at the national and regional levels, need effective representation from trade unions, taking account of all the changes in the work environment. Unions should be taking a modern approach to bargaining.
They should be promoting training to ensure that workers can adapt and be prepared for new jobs being created by technology, by climate change, and in new sectors.
My impression is that trade unions in the CARICOM region would benefit from uniting and improving management and coordination to build confidence among workers and to be able to better engage with employers and governments and to participate in regional and international discussions.
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