Commitment to Organize Migrant Workers in the Caribbean Renewed

Trade union leaders from Curacao, Bermuda, Trinidad and Tobago as well as representatives of the CCL and PSI reaffirmed their commitment to organize migrant workers in the Caribbean during a three-day Sub-Regional Evaluation and Planning Seminar that was held from May 3 to 5, 2011 in Bermuda. The objective of the seminar, which was hosted by the Bermuda Industrial Union, was to evaluate the Caribbean Sub-Regional Trade Union Development and Migration Project supported by FNV Bouw and FNV Mondiaal.

Since 2009, the Barbados Workers Union (BWU); Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU); Sindikato di Empleadonan den Bibienda (SEBI) and Sentral General di Trahadonan di Korsou (SGTK) of Curacao; Guynana Labour Union (GLU); Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and National Workers Union (NWU) of Jamaica, and the Seamen & Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU) of Trinidad and Tobago have been implementing activities and campaigns to outreach and organize migrant workers into trade unions. Due to the historical trend of labour migration within the Caribbean, for some of these unions organizing migrant workers is not new. However, with recent increases of migrant workers from Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti, Brazil, Portugal, Philippines, and China, the unions expanded their organizing programs.

Through a variety of strategies and programs ranging such as direct outreach to migrant workers, providing legal service and advices, utilizing the media to further mainstream the importance of promoting the rights of migrant workers, and educating national workers and trade union members about the significant contributions of migrant workers, the unions were able to increase their trade union membership by over 10% respectively.

The BIU established an organizing committee comprising of representatives of the Catholic Church, Amnesty International, and the Filipino community. As a result of their work, the union was able to “shut down” a construction site where the contractors had a three tiered wage system for workers conducting the same type of work. Workers from Canada and the United States received the top wages; Bermudan workers received a little less; and migrant workers from the Philippines and Portugal received the lowest wages. The union’s intervention led to all the workers receiving the same wages.

The SEBI and SGTK carried out a series of direct outreach campaigns utilizing materials they developed for migrant workers in different languages. Recognizing that women migrant workers face further challenges and are more vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation, and sexual harassment, the unions produced separate information materials with contact details for women and male migrant workers.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the government had signed a bilateral agreement with the Chinese government resulting in the influx of Chinese migrant workers working at project operated by the Chinese construction companies. To ensure that these workers were guaranteed the same protection as national workers the SWWTU has been engaged in dialogue with the Chinese company for over a year.

In addition to outreaching to migrant workers in Jamaica, the BITU also focused their work in providing essential information to Jamaicans prior to departure to both countries within the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada. In relation to Canada, the union noted the harsh working conditions of Jamaican migrant workers participating in the Canadian Farm Work Programme.

In conclusion, the unions agreed that labour migration will be a significant issue for the region particularly since the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is discussing in establishing free mobility within the region. With the development, the unions recognize that they need to strengthen their relationship with Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) and the other Global Unions within the region to develop joint strategies and programs to ensure that the rights of migrant workers and to maintain wages and standards that the trade union movements had struggled to achieve in many of these islands.