Jamaica Workers And Tradesmen's Union
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Jamaica Workers And Tradesmen's Union
OR:
Jamaica Workers And Tradesmen's Union on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The Jamaica Workers and Tradesmen's Union (JWTU) was a
general union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gene ...
in Jamaica. The union was established in 1937, by Allan Coombs, and the Marxist Hugh Clifford Buchanan. Soon after, Percy A. Aiken led a breakaway, the Builders and Allied Trade Union.
Alexander Bustamante Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante (born William Alexander Clarke; 24 February 1884 – 6 August 1977) was a Jamaican politician and labour leader, who, in 1962, became the first prime minister of Jamaica. Early life and education He was ...
joined the union, and soon became prominent by writing letters to the press regarding a strike wave in Jamaica. In 1937, he was appointed as the union's treasurer. However, at the end of the year, he demanded that the union's president should resign, in order that he could take up the post. He was expelled from the union, and founded the rival
Bustamante Industrial Trade Union The Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU, also referred to as the Busta Union) is a trade union center in Jamaica established by Sir Alexander Bustamante. The BITU was formed in 1938 and built up a membership of 54,000 within 6 years. It is a ...
. The JWTU survived the splits, but was weakened. By the start of 1939, it had only 946 members.{{cite book , last1=Hart , first1=Richard , title=Towards Decolonisation: Political, Labour and Economic Developments in Jamaica 1938-1945 , date=1999 , publisher=Canoe Press , isbn=9789768125330 Its main area of strength was among port workers in
Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...
. In February 1939, Bustamante led a campaign to recruit those workers to his union, culminating in a national strike in the industry. This led to the dissolution of the JWTU.


References

General unions Trade unions established in 1937 Trade unions disestablished in 1939 Trade unions in Jamaica