The turning point of labour relations on the Port of Kingston

The shipping industry in the 1950s was rife with industrial unrest leading to loss of productivity on the Port of Kingston. Kingston was thus seen as an unreliable, congested port with many shipping lines threatening to drop Jamaica from their schedules.

The Joint Industrial Council (JIC) was formed on August 26, 1952 in response to the unrest and became a significant development in the structure for management-worker relations in Jamaica. It was formed by four trade unions: the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the United Portworkers and Seamen Union (UPWSU) were the three unions representing workers on the port, while the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) represented employers. The mandate of the council was to maintain industrial harmony that would contribute to the development of the shipping industry in Jamaica.

The formation of the JIC was led by SAJ chairman, Luis Fred Kennedy; vice chairman, H.D. McCaulay Orrett, and managing committee members, A.E. West and P.J. Clossey. The unions were represented by the late prime minister, Hugh Lawson Shearer of the BITU, Ken Hill of the TUC and Noel Nethersole of the NWU/UPWSU and worker-delegates Arthur Heath and I. Cooper. This first meeting was held on July 21, 1952.

Kennedy and Shearer were elected as joint chairmen of the JIC. In the early years, the SAJ appointed its vice-chairman to be its JIC representative. In subsequent years, the SAJ's general manager became the principal representative.

Hurdles to overcome

Before the JIC could bear fruit, there were many hurdles to overcome. Between the 1950s and 1960s, business in the industry declined and the JIC, though effective, did not immediately find lasting solutions to the main factor, the labour strife. This led to an intervention by the Government, led by the late Norman Manley, premier at the time. He established the Moody Commission of enquiry into the strikes. The commission was led by attorney-at-law Locksley Moody, and included Douglas Judah (SAJ's legal adviser at the time), William Thwaites an accountant, and two foreign experts, T. O'Leary and Sir Ian Parkin.

The Moody Commission, appointed on October 20, 1961, is noted as a great contributor to the development of employment and compensation policies in Jamaica. It reported in August 1962. The commission's report was deemed binding on all parties and the JIC implemented areas where specific actions were mandated. The agreement modernised working conditions for portworkers, provided weekly guaranteed pay, introduced a two-shift system, improved sick and vacation leave entitlements, and laid the groundwork for a new incentive scheme and the introduction of technical and mechanical improvements covering containerised cargo. This commission provided the foundation for the now modern port.

Low productivity

The 1960s saw more challenges affecting the industry. Low productivity was a major issue on the port. In 1966, SAJ chairman, Paul Scott, appointed a task force to provide the SAJ's managing committee with a plan to improve productivity on the port. The leader was Geoff Collyer and members were Captain Mike Belcher, Harry Worton and Robert Bell. The team identified the problems as:

• The advanced age of the portworkers
• The poor health due to overwork of the portworkers
• Reluctance of the portworker to take sick leave (unpaid)
• Job insecurity
• The continued 'spelling' system
• Total rejection of mechanisation by the workers

The findings of this report led to the further adoption of the advice of the Moody Report. Recommendations were made regarding the mechanisation process. Additionally, all registered portworkers would get guaranteed pay irrespective of whether they had worked and received paid vacation leave; retirement at 65; the superannuation scheme should be converted to a pension plan, and in return, the firms would have the right to chose whatever mechanical systems they chose.

Remarkable achievement

The SAJ supported the proposed scheme. The proposals were taken to the JIC, where the major players were Shearer, the late prime minister, Michael Manley; Hopeton Caven, the longest serving union officer on the JIC; Geoff Collyer, L. Paul Scott, Captain Michael Belcher, Noel Hylton and Harry Worton. Acceptance was won and it became a cameo for good industrial relations.

Despite several periods of disagreement between management and labour on the Port of Kingston, one remarkable achievement over the last 40 years has been the absence of significant loss of man hours due to industrial relations actions on the part of workers or lockouts by the employers. This is a tribute to the JIC which has provided a forum for the discussion of issues before they escalate.

Even in times when employers and the unions have failed to agree on issues at the local level, the mutual respect developed at the JIC has resulted in the continuation of work while disputes are handled at the Ministry of Labour, at the Industrial Disputes Tribunal or even at boards of enquiry such as the Muirhead Commission which reported on working conditions at the Port of Kingston in 1998.

The Muirhead Commission was appointed in 1997 by then Minister of Labour, now prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller. The commission, chaired by attorney-at-law and former ambassador, David Muirhead, QC, was given the task of enquiry into the dispute between the SAJ and the workers employed by the association. This, after the SAJ called on her following the failure to reach wage agreements at the JIC level.

Other members of the commission were Professor Gordon Shirley (nominee of employers) and the late Professor Rex Nettleford (nominee of the unions). The unions were represented by Alvin Sinclair of the BITU and André Hind of the NWU. The SAJ team was led by its president at the time, Ludlow Stewart, and by Grantley Stephenson, who assumed the role of president during the period of the enquiry.

Among those who made a great contribution were Noel Hylton, president and CEO of the Port Authority of Jamaica; Alvin Henry (SAJ's general manager at the time) and Russell Keith (SAJ's industrial relations manager at the time). The port management was represented by Captain Mike Belcher. This was said to be the last major negotiation that Shearer conducted in his union career.

The Muirhead Report provided a balance and had a galvanising effect on the port. The agreement set the groundwork for flexibility as it removed restrictive labour practices by introducing flexible work arrangements and improved Jamaica's competitiveness in the region.

The JIC continued to bear fruit and saw representatives from management and labour meeting on a monthly basis to discuss concerns on the Port of Kingston. The success of the council is due solely to the contributions of many industry stalwarts, including Noel Hylton, L. Paul Scott, the late Hylton Clarke, Alister Cooke, Alvin Henry, Grantley Stephenson, Charles Johnston, Michael Bernard, Kim Clarke, Roger Hinds and Trevor Riley of the SAJ. Union representatives: the late Hugh Lawson Shearer, the late Noel Nethersole, the late Ken Hill, the late Edith Nelson, the late Thossy Kelly, Hopeton Caven, the late Errol Anderson, Dennis Wright, the late V. Bancroft Edwards, Donovan Hunter, Las Perry, the late Irving Jones, Andre Hind, Barry Dawes and Roosevelt Walker.