Voluntarism, Political Unionism and the Regulation of Industrial Relations in Jamaica

• Author: Noel M. Cowell
• Pages: 403-425

403

THE LAW AND WORKPLACE GOVERNANCE

Voluntarism, Political Unionism and

the Regulation of Industrial

Relations in Jamaica

This chapter traces the evolution and impact of labour policy in Jamaica.

It focuses primarily on legislation; in particular on how and why elements

of the North American Wagner model were introduced in the country and on

some of the consequences of these initiatives for private sector collective

bargaining. Given its background as a British colony, Jamaica adopted the

fundamentals of the British system of law and governance, including modified

versions of British labour laws, British trade union models and the procedural

elements of British voluntary industrial relations. However, the country's close

economic relations with the United States and Canada has led it to graft upon

this somewhat adulterated British model certain aspects of the North American

direct legislative approach. The result is a hybrid in which aspects of the North

American Wagner model have coexisted with a mixture of British and Jamaican

elements since 1950 (Gershenfeld, 1974). The next section examines the legal

and institutional framework governing private sector industrial relations prior

to the passing of the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (LRIDA).

Section 2 seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of this framework. Section 3 looks

at the move towards more comprehensive regulation and section 4 explores

the three central provisions of the LRIDA, evaluating their impact on industrial

relations within the private sector. The chapter ends with a summary of the

main conclusions.

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Scholars stress the importance of the distinction between labour policy

and labour legislation. Policy refers to government's stated intentions and

actions. These generally include the passing of legislation. In addition, they

may include other explicit initiatives such as wage guidelines, or the promotion

of social dialogue or the example set by its own approach to labour-management

# NOEL M. COWELL

404 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

relations. However, the pronouncements and the posture it adopts in relation

to circumstances such as industrial action affecting either the public or private

sector or its action or inaction in relation to issues such as the freedom of

association, pay equity and gender at work may send signals to private sector

employers and investors as to permissible conduct in the field of labour and

industrial relations.

Labour policy in both the United States and Britain has, for most of this

century, supported the freedom of employees to join trade unions, bargain

collectively and take action in defence of their organisations (Adams, 1994a).

But while the United States (and Canada) did this by means of direct legislative

intervention, Britain (between 1871 and 1906) took a more indirect approach.

Trade unions were provided with a series of “statutory immunities,” the

cumulative effect of which was to free them from the common law doctrine of

conspiracy in restraint of trade (Hawkins, 1981; Phelps-Brown, 1986;

International Labour Organisation (ILO) 1961; Adams 1995a). In the United

States, the right to organise and the right to strike are guaranteed by law.

Specifically, the Wagner Act (1935) affirmed, in section 7, that "employees

shall have the right to self-organisation, to form, to join, or assist labour

organisations, to bargain through representatives of their own choosing, and

to engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or

other mutual aid or protection" (Phelps-Brown 1986: 219).

A similar situation exists in most Canadian provinces (Goddard, 1998).

In contrast, British workers going out on strike, prior to 1971, could be subject

to instant dismissal. There were no laws compelling recognition, and

jurisdictional disputes among unions were handled by the Trade Union

Congress (Brown et al., 1997). The Industrial Relations Act (IRA) of 1971

brought Britain closer to the American model but stopped short of imposing

the requirement of “general recognition” on the employer. In 1974, the IRA

was repealed and replaced by the Trade Unions and Labour Relations Act

(TULRA). Legislation after 1979 was substantially directed at weakening trade

unions. Whereas Collective Labour Agreements have been legally binding in

the United States since 1935, in the British tradition they were intended "for

guidance only and observed simply by good faith" (Phelps-Brown, 1986: 189).

The outcomes were also different. After a century of encouraging collective

bargaining (both by legislative and extra-legislative policy), the British

government had, by the beginning of the 1970s, come to the conclusion that

trade unions were too powerful. Beginning with the Employment Act (1982)

and continuing during the entire period of conservative government, up to

1997, the State reversed its former policy of encouraging collective bargaining

(Adams, 1994) and reinforced this reversal with law directed at reducing the