The Saint Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union (TLU) is 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 ...

St Kitts and Nevis 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 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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. 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. The union was a founding affiliate of the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 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 ...

(ICFTU).

Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw (16 September 1916 – 23 May 1978) was the first Premier of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and previously served as Chief Minister, legislator, and labour activist. Early life Bradshaw was born in the Saint Paul Capisterre ...

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. The union has a close relationship with the ruling

Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party The Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), also known simply as Labour, is a centre-left political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is currently in government in the country after winning six of the eleven seats in the 2022 general electio ...

(SKNLP) formerly The Workers League. The TLU is affiliated with the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...

References

Trade unions in Saint Kitts and Nevis International Trade Union Confederation Trade unions established in 1940 {{SaintKittsNevis-stub