Labour and the Decolonization Struggle in Trinidad and Tobago

J. Teelucksingh

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781137462336
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire du monde

This book provides evidence that Labour in Trinidad and Tobago played a vital role in undermining British colonialism and advocating for federation and self-government. Furthermore, there is emphasis on the pioneering efforts of the Labour movement in party politics, social justice, and working class solidarity.

1

The Pioneers: Organized Labour, 1894–1920

At the close of the nineteenth century, the working class in Trinidad remained on the periphery of the struggle between the African and Coloured reformers and the colonial government. The urban-based reformers such as Henry Alcazar, C.P. David and Emmanuel Lazare failed to mobilize the working class whom they considered irresponsible, unprepared and uneducated.¹ Denied recognition by those who should have led them, the masses remained devoid of legislative representation and State protection against the employer class. Limited options for the protection of workers’ interests in the pre-Cipriani era gave rise to the formation of the earliest labour fraternities in Trinidad and Tobago, the Workingmen’s Association (WMA) in 1894 and the Workingmen’s Reform Club (WRC) in 1897.² These organizations constituted early responses to the needs of the working class, and they laid the foundations for the evolution of the labour movement in the twentieth century. Hobsbawm’s general comment on the significance of the labour movement for the masses holds true of the working class in Trinidad: “The labour movement provided an answer to the poor man’s cry” providing for him “the eternal vigilance, organization and activity of the ‘movement’ – the trade union, the mutual or co-operative society, the working-class institute, newspaper or agitation.”³

The WMA and WRC used as their model the labour organizations which existed in England during the nineteenth century, particularly the London Workingmen’s Association (formed in the late 1830s) and the Leeds Workingmen’s Parliamentary Association (1861). Both were advocates of better working conditions for the English labour force, universal suffrage, education of workers and their families and an honest press.⁴ In drawing upon the experience of these organizations, the WMA and WRC emerged as political pressure groups which challenged Crown Colony government, advocated self-determination and represented the interests of the working class.

The WMA, formed in Port-of-Spain in 1894, was the first labour fraternity of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago. Although scholars have generally accepted 1897 as the year of its formation, there is evidence which suggests an earlier date. It is certain that the Association existed in 1896 and conducted its meetings at Greyfriars Presbyterian Church Hall, on Frederick Street in Port-of-Spain, under the Presidency of J. Sydney de Bourg and Montgomery E. Corbie as the Secretary of the Association.⁵

In 1906, the Mirror reported on a meeting at which Corbie reviewed the work of the Association “since its inauguration twelve years ago.”⁶ In Corbie’s account of the founding of the WMA, he recalled that the inauguration of the Association was linked to its concerns made when the Borough Council struggled for the release of £14,000 which was withheld by the government. It was that political issue which gave birth to the WMA, when in solidarity with the Borough Council, concerned burgesses such as Corbie and de Bourg saw the need to mobilize public opinion against governmental pressure on the locally managed Council.

During the period 1894–1896, the WMA attracted certain categories of workers comprising skilled African workers who were masons, carpenters, railway workers and store clerks. It was their employment concerns which subsequently dictated the agenda of the fledgling organization. The leadership of the WMA did not originate from the upper level of the middle-class African intelligentsia in the city. The President, Sydney de Bourg, was an ex-school master, later a Commission agent and owner of a small cocoa estate. The Secretary, Montgomery Corbie, worked in the courts as a “petition writer” a position which judges hoped would have been abolished.⁷

In November 1896, the WMA accepted a resolution in which de Bourg expressed disagreement with Governor Napier Broome who said in a public statement that the condition of the races in the colony had “considerably ameliorated” during the past 100 years of Crown Colony government. In the ensuing debate, Corbie condemned the government’s wasteful expenditure on fireworks and parties for the Crown Colony centenary celebrations: “In this Centenary hoax, Sir Napier Broome rejoiced with the plantocrats by burning £1,000 in the air in the sight of starving people, while £2,500 would be spent in getting up balls for Mr. Knollys and his friends.” Walter Mills added his criticism of the usurious rate of interest levied on unpaid taxes and the government’s threat of the seizure of land if taxes remained unpaid after one year.⁸

In 1897, there were approximately 50 members in the WMA consisting primarily of labourers who were Trinidadians, but some were migrant workers from other West Indian colonies.⁹ The membership was similar to other working-class organizations: “Its core, like that of the early Jamaican unions, consisted of skilled workers, but the TWA [Trinidad Workingmen’s Association] also sought to include unskilled workers employed at the railway and waterfront.”¹⁰ Although the assumption is made that the absence of Indians in the WMA in its formative years reflected “prejudice or neglect or both,”¹¹ Indians were perceived by the leadership of the WMA as competitors of the African working class who constituted the membership of the Association. The leadership of the WMA contended that imported Indian labour kept wages depressed and thus affected free labour in the colony. This attitude soon translated into hostility to the Indian presence in Trinidad, and inevitably deterred free Indians from joining the Association.

Walter Mills, a Port-of-Spain druggist, became the President of the WMA in 1897, and one of his first assignments was to represent the Association by giving evidence before the West India Royal Commission in March of that year. Mills informed the Commission of the daily hardships faced by the working class, and he proposed the removal of burdensome taxes on foodstuffs, and the introduction of a Stamp Act to replace customs duties on food.¹² He was critical of the 30% additional duty that was imposed by Venezuela on goods imported from Trinidad since that negatively affected the once booming trade with the South American mainland.¹³ Also, in his testimony before the Commission, Mills recommended a change in the management of the local road board because of the failure of the Director of Public Works to provide adequate facilities for the delivery of produce to the markets.¹⁴

For almost a decade, the WMA remained dormant and was not engaged in any serious involvement in public affairs. This was the period when anti-government sentiments were best articulated by the African and Coloured urban reformers. Unfortunately, since the reformers made no attempt to forge an alliance with the WMA, nor to recognize or incorporate its concerns for the working class, the Association had little alternative but to reorganize itself as an independent organization.

In addition to the WMA, a similar labour-oriented organization, the WRC under the leadership of Charles Phillips functioned in Port-of-Spain for a brief period, 1896–1897. The Port-of-Spain Gazette referred to Phillips as a “Commission Agent” and also as a “workingman,” and in a memorandum to the Royal Commission he is referred to as the “father of labour movements.”¹⁵ Since the membership of the WRC included dockworkers, boatmen, artisans and ships’ labourers, the Club could be considered as the first labour organization for seamen and waterfront workers. The agenda for meetings in 1896 indicate the Club’s involvement in political affairs particularly issues concerning the Borough Council. On 15 September 1896, the Club pledged its support to Randolph Rust as a candidate for the Borough Council elections on condition that he made a commitment to provide water for the poor, and education for the underprivileged children in the colony.¹⁶ The WRC also advocated proper organization of city scavengers and proposed a six-day Carnival to celebrate the centennial of Crown Colony governance.¹⁷

In 1897, Phillips submitted evidence to the West India Royal Commission in which he focused on labour conditions in Trinidad. He appealed for governmental intervention to assist the unemployed and destitute. The memorandum from the Club indicated that the coconut industry was underdeveloped and there was need for reconsideration of the monopoly in the asphalt industry.¹⁸ The Commission was apprised of working-class grievances, particularly the oppressive increase of land rates from 1 shilling to 1 shilling and 3 pence per acre and the urgent need to release cocoa lands for small farmers. There was no reservation in the WRC’s forthright denunciation of Indian immigration and its economic disadvantages to the colony. Phillips informed the Commission that immigration handicapped farming by African workers since it kept wages low in the colony. He concluded, “Coolie immigrants starving us . . . they contribute nothing to city improvements.”¹⁹ After 1897, the WRC ceased to function as a distinct identity. Charles Phillips subsequently joined the rejuvenated WMA in 1906 serving on its Executive Committee.

During the period 1898–1906, the African and Coloured intelligentsia continued its struggle for the political and fiscal autonomy of the Port-of-Spain Borough Council. The Council sought increased subventions from the government and also relief from burdensome taxation. Joseph Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, intervened but he was critical of the financial management of the Council. He offered conditional assistance, but when the Council refused he ordered that it be abolished.²⁰ The abolition of the Council in 1898 indicated the government’s intention to pursue its undemocratic, autocratic approach to governance in the colony. However, this created a new wave of disenchantment in the colony as strong resistance came from the African and Coloured middle class who vigorously pursued the campaign for constitutional reform.

The decision of the colonial government to establish a nominated Town Board in 1906 provided an opportunity for the revival of the WMA when its leaders associated themselves with the discontented groups and individuals seeking a restoration of the Borough Council in Port-of-Spain. In 1906, a committee comprising outspoken radicals such as J.D. Alcazar, Emmanuel Lazare and C.P. David were appointed to make recommendations for the municipal administration of the city. There was a division of opinion regarding the composition of the restored Council. The moderates who were in the majority wanted a mixture of nominees and elected persons on the Council, whilst the radicals desired an elected Council.

The official members sought a nominated Council, but Governor H.M. Jackson supported the idea of an elected Council. The views of the official members prevailed as was evident in the Legislative Council’s decision in 1906 to experiment with a Town Board that would be wholly nominated for two years. This administrative proposal for the city was rejected by various groups and individuals, among whom were members of the dominant WMA who preferred the restoration of the Borough Council. It was that issue which prompted the revival of the WMA in 1906. In that year the Association printed its first letterhead with its new name – “The Trinidad Workingmen’s Association.”

In 1906, there were 233 members in the TWA under the leadership of a new Executive led by Alfred Richards (president) and Adrien Hilarion (vice-president and secretary of the association). Other members included Laurence Wilson (carpenter), W.A. Watson (planter) and J.S. de Bourg (commission agent).²¹ “Planters” and “Merchants” associated with the TWA were small or medium-sized entrepreneurs or proprietors. For example, Richards operated a wine and grocery store adjoining his pharmacy on King Street, Port-of-Spain. He also owned a small cocoa plantation.²² In its registration as an incorporated organization, the TWA included in the “Articles of Association” the promotion of better relations between workers and employers, representation for unemployed workers and protection of the rights of workers.²³ The TWA, in its early years was slow to capture public sympathy and to attract popular support from the different sectors of the labouring class.

The first engagement of the rejuvenated TWA was on February 1906 when at its public meeting at George Street, Port-of-Spain, the Association rejected government’s proposal to establish a Town Board. Accordingly, correspondence was forwarded to the Municipal Committee seeking restoration of the town’s municipal charter.²⁴ Although a political stimulus restored the Association from dormancy, the TWA immediately incorporated working-class concerns which determined its character and dictated its future role in the colony. Its first efforts in labour representation came in May 1907 when the TWA appealed to colonial officials to consider improvements in conditions of work for Railway employees. A petition was submitted which proposed benefits for overtime work, shorter hours of work and sick leave without reduction in salary. The Association advised Acting Governor, Gilbert Carter, that porters, engine drivers, firemen and guards worked for over 12 1/2 to 13 hours daily with no remuneration for overtime labour. The recommendations included the introduction of a pension scheme and one month’s sick leave with full wages and free medical attention.²⁵

In response to the concerns of the TWA, General Manager and Chief Engineer of Railways, H.R. Marwood, met with a deputation including guards, ticket checkers and brakesmen. In his report on that meeting, Marwood said, “A good deal of irrelevant matter was introduced by the several speakers, and there was (evidently) anything but unanimity among the men . . . as to which they considered the burning question.”²⁶ He claimed that the discontented men were confined to the traffic department and not to the locomotive and maintenance department. Therefore, in terms of benefits such as sick leave, hours of work and wages, employees in the Railway Department enjoyed better conditions than other men of their class in the rest of the colony. He proceeded to question the Association’s support for railway workers, “with every respect for the Association, which has so large a field of useful labour to its hand, it is, I submit unworthy of it, that it should lend its support to an attempt to force from the Government terms which its proteges would have no hope of obtaining themselves.”²⁷

Railway employees continued agitation for better working conditions, and in 1909 T. Summerbell raised in the House of Commons the issue of dismissals and matters pertinent to labour in the Railway Department in the colony. The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, J.E.B. Seely, was unable to offer a satisfactory response since he admi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• Introduction: Labour in the Nineteenth Century
• 1. The Pioneers: Organized Labour, 1894–1920
• 2. Early Years: The Trinidad Workingmen’s Association
• 3. Involvement of Labour in Politics, 1925–1938
• 4. Labour’s Voices in the Legislative Council, 1925–1938
• 5. Rise of the Trinidad Labour Party
• 6. Demands for Self-Government and Federation
• Conclusion
• Appendices
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index