CARICOM Declaration of Labour and Industrial Relations Principles (Part I) cont’d…
LAST week, we looked at the preamble to what constitutes the Declaration. Today, we will deal with the Declaration proper, which comprises eight (8) chapters.  Chapter I speaks to ‘SCOPE OF DECLARATION’ and deals with the following: ARTICLE 1:Applicability of Principles
The principles herein set forth are subject to such constitutional provisions and applicable laws as may be established in the national interest by Member States and recognised by competent tribunals.

ARTICLE 2: Restrictions on Rights
Entitlement to the rights recognised as belonging to workers and employers is subject to the respect for the rights of others and to the discharge of obligations correlative to such rights.

Chapter II speaks to ‘FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION’, and in it you find the following:

ARTICLE 3: Rights to Organise and to Membership
Workers and employers, without any distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organisation concerned, to join organisations of their own choosing.

ARTICLE 4: Right to Regulate Internal Arrangements
Workers’ and employers’ organisations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules and to regulate their internal arrangements without interference from public authorities having the effect of restricting this right of impeding its lawful exercise.

ARTICLE 5: Non-Subversion of Workers’ Organisations
Employers shall refrain from establishing workers’ organisations under the control of employers or employers’ organisations or supporting workers’ organisations by financial or other means with the object of placing such organisations under the control of employers or employers’ organisations.

Chapter III speaks to one of the main reasons why trade unions exist: ‘COLLECTIVE BARGAINING’.  The following articles are contained therein:

ARTICLE 6: Right to Collective Bargaining
1. Workers and employers shall have the right to free collective bargaining as a vehicle for determining terms and conditions of employment without interference from public authorities.

2. The Social Partners shall promote the full development and utilisation of machinery for voluntary negotiation between the parties, with the view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreement.

ARTICLE 7: Recognition Machinery and Good Faith Bargaining
1. The Member states shall establish adequate statutory machinery and procedures to facilitate and promote the recognition of workers’ organisations by employers and employers’ organisations as appropriate, based on the free choice of the majority of their employees for the purpose of collective bargaining.

2. The parties to the collective bargaining process shall maintain a reasonable and constructive approach and thereby demonstrate their mutual obligation to bargain in good faith.

3. Competent authorities and employers shall, as far as practicable and within the limits imposed by law or by collective agreement, provide information necessary to enable workers’ representatives to pursue meaningful negotiations which shall have due regard for existing sectoral, national, economic and financial circumstances.

ARTICLE 8: Promotion of Stable Relations
1. Workers’ organisations, employers and employers’ organisations shall employ their best endeavours to conclude appropriate collective agreements on the basis of equity, fairness and justice and with a view to promoting stability in industrial relations.

2. The Social Partners shall promote the full development and utilisation of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers’ organisations and workers’ organizations,with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective bargaining.

ARTICLE 9: Protection for Trade Union Representatives
Trade Union representatives in an undertaking shall enjoy effective protection against any act prejudicial to them, including dismissal, based on their status or activities as trade union representatives or participation in union activities, in so far as they act in conformity with existing laws or collective agreements or other arrangements arrived at by the collective bargaining process.

ARTICLE 10: Elected Representatives and Workers’ Representatives
Where there exist in the same undertaking both trade union representatives and elected worker representatives, appropriate measures shall be taken, wherever necessary, to ensure that the existence of elected worker representatives is not used to undermine the position of the trade unions concerned or their representatives, and to encourage cooperation on all relevant matters between the elected worker representatives and the trade unions concerned and their representatives.

This brings us to the end of Part I of my presentation on this subject.  In Part II, I will look at the remaining chapters in the Declaration.
*The writer is the former General Secretary of the Clerical & Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU) and also a former President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and a former Vice President of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC). He served the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) as Research Officer 1983 – 1998.