Scribblings:
As of June 2023, the Central Bank Act did not contain a provision for recognition of a representative trade union. However, the phrase "recognised association" is repeated numerous times.
"recognised association” means an association representing employees other than estate constables in one or more salary groups, certified by the Registration Recognition and Certification Board;
20B. (1) The Bank shall provide for and establish procedures for consultation and negotiation between the Bank and— (a) in the case of employees other than estate constables, a recognised association;
The hierarchy of laws is to be amplified to show the position of memorandums of understandings in the hierarchy of legal instruments. Especially in the context of established parliamentary law.
Industrial Relations Relations Amendment Act 1978. Section 4 of Act 23 of 1972 amended.
Section 4.
(2c) The SpeciaI Tribunal established by the Civil Service Act, 1965, and referred to in the Police Service Act, 1965, the Fire Service Act, 1965, the Prison Service Act, 1965, the Education Act, 1966, the Supplemental Police Ordinance and the Central Bank Act, 1964 shall consist of the Chairman of the Essential Services Division and two other members of that Division selected by him, and shall hear and determine disputes arising in the Civil Service, the Police Service, the Fire Service, the Prison Service, the Teaching Service, the Supplemental Police and the Central Bank as if those disputes arose in essential services.
Drafting - The Origins of The Millstones
In Trinidad and Tobago, during the early nineteen sixties, two of the readily observable adults' past-times were reading the newspapers and listening to the radio. Therefore, it is reasonable to deduce that the employees hired by the Central Bank in December 1964, were aware of the nature of the then existing industrial relations climate.
The Trinidad and Tobago Parliament’s Hansard states that during the period 1960 t0 1964 there were 230 strikes in Trinidad and Tobago.
Against that backdrop, the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament by Act 23 of 1964, established the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday 12th December 1964.
Then in March 1965, the government introduced the Industrial Stabilisation Bill. This piece of labour legislation was likely to have been very topical given the spate of trade unions activities at that time. Therefore, it is conceivable that the well-read employees of the bank were aware of the proposals contained therein.
As stated in its preamble, the purpose of the Act was "to provide for the compulsory recognition by employers of trade unions and organisations representative of a majority or workers, for the establishment of an expeditious system for the settlement of trade disputes, for the regulation of prices of commodities, for the constitution of a court to regulate matters relating to the foregoing an incidental thereto."
The Industrial Stabilisation Act (ISA) was passed in Trinidad and Tobago Parliament on 19th March 1965. With its proclamation on 20th March 1965, the Industrial Court came into existence. It is to be noted that according to that Act, the Central Bank was not an essential service. Further, the bank’s employees were not prohibited from joining a union or engaging in strike action. However, there isn't any documentation at hand that suggests there was an inclination amongst the first of the bank's employees to become members of a trade union.
The 1967 amendments to the ISA, among other things, made the proposition to join a trade union even more attractive. The bank was then in existence for three years. The management of the bank may have recognised the need to address the issue of a compensation package for the staff. In all probability, it was the management of the bank that initiated the collective bargaining process. With hindsight, it can be seen that staff participation in the collective bargaining process was at best, ill-advised. If a staff association was not formed, what would have been the options available to the bank's management? The formation of an in-house union, a staff association, to represent a group of workers who, for reasons unknown, were apparently averse to the word and associated actions of a union. This aversion became the first millstone on the industrial relationship in the Central bank of Trinidad and Tobago.
Had the Central Bank employees joined a trade union before 1972, a number of the millstones that were to plague the industrial relationship may not have come into existence.
To show that there were no legal obstacles preventing the employees of the Central Bank from joining a trade union, Sections 36. (6) and 37. (1) of the ISA are quoted below.
Section 36. (6) For the purposes of this section “essential services" mean the services set out in the Schedule.
SCHEDULE
(Section 36)
Electricity Services
Fire Services
Health Services
Hospital Services
Sanitary Services (including scavenging services)
Water Services.
Section 37. (1) The following persons shall not take part in any strike:
(a) members of the public service of Trinidad and Tobago;
(b) members of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Force, the Special Reserve Police, the Estate Police, and the Police Force of any municipality;
(c) members of the Prison Services of Trinidad and Tobago;
(d) members of the Fire Services of Trinidad and Tobago; and
(e) members of the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force.
The matter of industrial relations was not addressed in anyway in the Central Bank Act of 1964. Therefore, in neither the ISA nor the Central Bank Act No. 23 of 1964, were there any legal obstacles preventing the staff from joining a trade union.
However, in 1972 the ISA was repealed and replaced by the Industrial Relations Act (IRA).
At Section 69. (1) the IRA states: -
The following persons shall not take part in any industrial action:-
(e) members of the staff and other employees of the Central Bank, established by the Central Bank Act, 1964.