Saint Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union

Last updated
TLU
Saint Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union
Founded1932
Headquarters Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Location
Key people
Walford Gumbs, president
Batumba Tak, general secretary
Affiliations ITUC

The Saint Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union (TLU) is a general union in St Kitts and Nevis.

The union was founded in 1940, following the legalization of trade unions in St Kitts and Nevis. It was initially named the St Kitts - Nevis - Anguilla Trades and Labour Union, and focused on organizing sugar workers. Its founding president was Edgar Challenger. Before the union could register with the government, sugar workers undertook a walk-out, asking for an increase in pay, in view of the increased price of sugar during World War II. The union decided to make the action an official strike. It succeeded in obtain pay increases, but 70 workers were sacked. Despite the mixed success of the action, it was seen as cementing the union's leading role in the country's labour movement. [1]

In 1943, the union organised a ten day general strike, which won a pay increase across many sectors. In 1948, the union led a three-month strike on St Kitts among sugar cane cutters, officially calling for changes to the method of payment, but also making a variety of political demands. The strike was settled by an agreement with the Sugar Producers Association. [1]

The union was a founding affiliate of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw succeeded Challenger as president of the union, and he was elected to the ICFTU's executive board. By this point, the union had sectins for sugar estate workers, sugar mill workers, waterfront workers, civil servants, and general workers. [1]

The union has a close relationship with the ruling Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) formerly The Workers League. The TLU is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Kitts and Nevis</span> Country in the West Indies

Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles. With 261 square kilometers of territory, and roughly 50,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, in both area and population, as well as the world's smallest sovereign federation. The country is a Commonwealth realm, with Charles III as King and head of state. It is the only sovereign federation in the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Saint Kitts and Nevis</span> Aspect of history

Saint Kitts and Nevis have one of the longest written histories in the Caribbean, both islands being among Spain's and England's first colonies in the archipelago. Despite being only two miles apart and quite diminutive in size, Saint Kitts and Nevis were widely recognized as being separate entities with distinct identities until they were forcibly united in the late 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Confederation of Free Trade Unions</span> International trade union federation

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) to form the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw</span> Saint Kitts and Nevis politician

Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw was the first Premier of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and previously served as Chief Minister, legislator, and labour activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Southwell</span>

Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell was the second Premier and first Chief Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. He also worked as a teacher, police officer, and trade unionist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Confederation of Labour</span> International labour organization

The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Totalitarian governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the end of World War II. In 2006 it became part of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), ending its existence as an independent organization.

The Workers' Union was a general union based in the United Kingdom, but with some branches in other countries. During the 1910s, it was the largest general union in the UK, but it entered a rapid decline in the 1920s, and eventually became part of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU).

The ITUC Regional Organisation for Asia and Pacific is a regional organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation representing trade unions from countries in Asia and Oceania. It has 40 affiliated organisations in 28 countries, claiming a membership of 30 million people.

The Trades and Labor Congress of Canada was a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions from 1886 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor. It was the third attempt at a national labour federation to be formed in Canada: it succeeded the Canadian Labour Union which existed from 1873 to 1877 and the Canadian Labour Congress which held only one conference in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hind Mazdoor Sabha</span> Trade union in India

The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Trade unions in South Africa has a history dating back to the 1880s. From the beginning unions could be viewed as a reflection of the racial disunity of the country, with the earliest unions being predominantly for white workers. Through the turbulent years of 1948–1991 trade unions played an important part in developing political and economic resistance, and eventually were one of the driving forces in realising the transition to an inclusive democratic government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Trade Union Confederation</span> Global trade union federation

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is the world's largest trade union federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Matthew Sebastian</span> Caribbean trade unionist and politician (1891–1944)

Joseph Matthew Sebastian was a Caribbean trade union leader and politician.

A series of workplace disturbances, strikes, and riots broke out across the British West Indies in the period between 1934 and 1939. These began as the Great Depression wore on and ceased on the eve of World War II. The unrest served to highlight inequalities of wealth, led the British government to attempt a solution to the problem, and in some cases spurred the development of indigenous party politics that would lead to self-government and independence in the postwar period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ICFTU Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation</span>

The ICFTU Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation (APRO) was a regional organisation of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), representing trade unions from countries in Asia and Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghana Trades Union Congress</span> Train union federation in Ghana

The Ghana Trades Union Congress is a national centre that unites various workers' organizations in Ghana. The organization was established in 1945.

The Somali Confederation of Labour was a national trade union centre in Somalia. CSL was founded in 1949. CSL was closely linked to the ruling Somali Youth League, but retained organizational independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish Congress of Trade Unions</span>

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress and the Congress of Irish Unions, is a national trade union centre, the umbrella organisation to which trade unions in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland affiliate.

The Plantation Workers International Federation was an international trade secretariat of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. PWIF was founded at the firth ICFTU world congress held in Tunis in July 1957. Samuel Powell Claret was appointed as the general secretary of PWIF and Tom Bavin as its Director of Organisation. PWIF was launched by ICFTU to organize plantation unions in the Third World.

Trade unions in The Gambia are regulated under the Labour Act 2007. The first trade union was the Bathurst Trade Union (BTU), founded in 1929, which led a general strike that year. General strikes were also led by the Gambia Workers' Union (GWU) in 1960, 1961, 1967, and 1970, although not all were successful. There are three trade union centres in The Gambia: the Gambia Trade Union Bureau (GamTUB), the Gambian Workers' Confederation (GWC), and the Gambia National Trade Union Congress (GNTUC). The country joined the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1995.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Alexander, Robert J. (2004). A History of Organized Labor in the English-Speaking West Indies. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN   0275977439.
  2. ICTUR; et al., eds. (2005). Trade Unions of the World (6th ed.). London, UK: John Harper Publishing. ISBN   0-9543811-5-7.