Definitive Report - Report No 25, 1957

Case No 150 (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) - Complaint date: 13-JUN-56 - Closed

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 54. The complaint is contained in two communications from the Jamaican Federation of Trade Unions dated, respectively, 13 June and 9 August 1956. The complaining organisation is affiliated to the World Federation of Trade Unions.
   • Allegations relating to Non-Recognition of the Complaining Organisation and Its Affiliated Organisations
2. 55. It is alleged that the Government of Jamaica published a statement in December 1953 to the effect that it would have no dealings whatever with any organisation or union associated with communism or under Communist influence, and that the complaining organisation was informed by that Government that it would have no dealings with it or with its affiliates, in particular the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union. It is contended that the Government of Jamaica has excluded the organisation in question from participation in labour relations machinery and has encouraged employers also to have no dealings with them.
3. 56. The complainant contends that the action of the Government of Jamaica is contrary to Article 18, paragraph 1, of the Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947.
   • Allegations relating to Police Measures in Connection with a Strike
4. 57. It is alleged that the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union was registered in late 1953 and that it then applied to certain employers for recognition. This was refused. The union then called a strike on this issue. It is alleged that during the strike the authorities provided the employers concerned with free police aid as a means of intimidating and terrorising the workers on strike and of protecting the employers in their use of workers from other areas as strike-breakers.
   • ANALYSIS OF THE REPLY
5. 58. The observations of the Government of the United Kingdom are contained in a communication dated 31 January 1957.
   • Allegations relating to Non-Recognition of the Complaining Organisation and Its Affiliated Organisations
6. 59. The Government of the United Kingdom states that the Jamaica Federation of Trade Unions is not a registered organisation but that it has two affiliated unions which are registered-the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union, with a membership of just over 300, and the Seamen's Association, which has made no membership return but is also very small. The Government contends that the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union cannot be regarded as representative, with its 300 odd members, as about 175,000 workers are employed in agriculture and about 75,000 in the sugar industry, the overwhelming majority of them being organised in three well-established general unions, the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, the Jamaica Trade Union Congress and the National Workers' Union, all of which participate in the regular machinery for the negotiation of wages and conditions of service in the sugar industry and are afforded full facilities by the Ministry of Labour of Jamaica.
7. 60. The Government states that the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union and the Seamen's Association are registered trade unions and enjoy the same legal rights and protection as other registered unions. In considering the question of administrative facilities which may be afforded to trade unions, the Government of Jamaica has to take into account the representative nature of the organisation for the purpose of participating in collective bargaining and joint consultation and its willingness to respect the democratic form of government in Jamaica. The Government declares that the unions affiliated to the Jamaica Federation of Trade Unions are not representative of the workers in the industry concerned and are dominated by Communists and dedicated to a policy of subversion. In 1953 the then Jamaican Government decided to have no dealings with the Federation or its affiliates and advised employers to do likewise, a policy which it has maintained. The Government states, however, that there is no legal obstacle to employers dealing with the Federation and its affiliates if they so wish.
8. 61. The Government of the United Kingdom states that the Jamaican Government accepts the obligation under Article 18 of the Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947, that it shall be an aim of policy to abolish all discrimination among workers on grounds of trade union affiliation in respect of all the matters to which the Article applies, but, for the reasons given above and bearing in mind its obligations under Article 2 of the Convention to promote policies directed to the well-being and development of the people of Jamaica, considers that it is essential to maintain its freedom of administrative action in regard to the Jamaica Federation of Trade Unions and its affiliates.
   • Allegations relating to Police Measures in Connection with a Strike
9. 62. The Government assumes that reference is made to a strike which took place in March 1954 on the Appleton Estates and on estates in the parish of Hanover, and declares that the action of the police during the strike was strictly limited to the maintenance of law and order.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 63. The Government of the United Kingdom has ratified the Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947, and the Right of Association (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947, and, according to declarations communicated by the Government of the United Kingdom, the provisions of both Conventions are applicable in Jamaica.
   • Allegations relating to Non-Recognition of the Complaining Organisation and Its Affiliated Organisations
2. 64. It is alleged that the Jamaica Federation of Trade Unions and its affiliates, and especially the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union (a registered union), are not recognised by the Government of Jamaica because the latter considers them to be Communist-dominated, and that the Government of Jamaica has excluded them from participation in labour relations machinery and has advised employers not to have dealings with them. The complainants allege that the Government is contravening the provisions of the Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947.
3. 65. The Government accepts the obligation under Article 18, paragraph 1, of the Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947, that it shall be an aim of policy to abolish all discrimination among workers on grounds of trade union affiliation in respect of the various matters set forth in that Article and, especially, in respect of participation in the negotiation of collective agreements. It contends, however, that to admit organisations which it regards as dominated by Communists and dedicated to subversion to the regular joint negotiating machinery to which the Ministry of Labour affords facilities would not be in harmony with the obligation under Article 2 of the Convention to promote policies directed to the well-being and development of the people of Jamaica.
4. 66. The Committee considers that it is not called upon to interpret the provisions of, or the inter-relationship between the provisions of the Social Policy (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947, which does not deal primarily with the guarantee of trade union rights and the application of which in the different territories will be the subject of examination in due course by the I.L.O Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions, but that it should conduct its examination of the allegations in the present case in the light of generally accepted principles relating to trade union rights, including those embodied in the Right of Association (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947.
5. 67. Apart from the political considerations mentioned above the Government considers that, before administrative facilities can be afforded to trade unions, especially with respect to participation in the regular joint negotiating machinery, they must be sufficiently representative of the workers. The Government states that while the particular affiliate of the complaining organisation, the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union, which seeks such participation, has only just over 300 members, there are 175,000 agricultural and 75,000 sugar workers in Jamaica who are organised in three large unions which already participate in the machinery in question. The Government adds that the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union, being registered, enjoys the same legal rights as other registered trade unions and that any employers who wish to do so are free to negotiate agreements with it.
6. 68. In Case No. 52 relating to the then Free Territory of Trieste the Committee had to deal with the question of an organisation which was not included in various joint bodies to which the Government afforded facilities, although organisations with larger memberships were included. The Committee took the view that, while it would seem desirable that governments, when sponsoring joint bodies dealing with matters affecting the interests of workers, should make appropriate provision for the representation of different sections of the trade union movement having a substantial interest in the questions at issue, the complainant had not offered sufficient evidence that its strength was such that it was being discriminated against in favour of rival trade union organisations which were more representative of the workers. In the present case, in which the membership of the complaining organisation is relatively far less in comparison with that of the organisations which take part in the regular negotiating machinery, the Committee considers that it should formulate the same conclusion.
7. 69. In addition to the question of non-recognition by the Ministry of Labour the complaining organisation declares that employers have been encouraged to have no dealings with it or with its affiliate, the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union. The Government points out that the latter union is registered under the law of the land and legally entitled to conclude agreements with any employer willing to negotiate with it.
8. 70. Article 3 of the Right of Association (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947, provides that all practicable measures shall be taken to assure to trade unions which are representative of the workers concerned the right to conclude collective agreements with employers or employers' organisations. In Case No. 57 relating to British Guiana the Committee took the view that the Government had carried out its obligations under Article 3 of the above Convention by the fact that it had registered a complaining union under the law of the land, thus enabling it to enter freely into collective agreements. The employers in the British Guiana sugar industry, having recognised five trade unions, refused to recognise the complaining union on the ground that adequate representation for the purposes of collective bargaining was performed by the unions which they had recognised. The Committee, noting that the sixth union had been legally registered so that it was legally free to seek to conclude collective agreements but that the Government was not bound by any law to enforce collective bargaining by compulsory means, took the view that the complainant had not offered sufficient proof to show that trade union rights had been infringed.
9. 71. In the present case also, in which the complaining organisation does not allege that it or its affiliates have been denied the right to exist under the law of the land or show that the Government is bound by any law to force the employers to recognise them for the purpose of collective negotiation, the Committee considers that the complainant has not offered sufficient proof to show that trade union rights have been infringed, so far as these allegations are concerned, and recommends the Governing Body to decide that this part of the case does not call for further examination.
   • Allegations relating to Police Measures in Connection with a Strike
10. 72. It is alleged that during a strike by members of the Sugar and Agricultural Workers' Union the authorities provided free police aid to the employers with the object of intimidating and terrorising the strikers and protecting the employers when they brought in workers from other areas. The Government simply states that police action was strictly limited to the maintenance of law and order.
11. 73. The complainant, while ascribing hostile motives to the authorities in introducing police to the area of the strike, alleges no overt act by the police against the strikers or that, in fact, they did any more than "protect" the employers, while the Government states that the police were present simply to maintain law and order.
12. 74. In a number of previous cases the Committee, while considering that the use of police for strike-breaking purposes would have been an infringement of a trade union right, has recommended the dismissal of allegations of intervention by the police when the facts showed that such intervention was limited to the maintenance of public order and did not restrict the legitimate exercise of the right to strike. In the present case there is nothing to indicate that police intervention exceeded the minimum consistent with the maintenance of law and order. The Committee therefore consider that no proof has been furnished to show that the intervention of the police constituted an infringement of trade union rights and, accordingly, recommends the Governing Body to decide that these allegations do not call for further examination.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 75. In all the circumstances, therefore, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that the case as a whole does not call for further examination.