ISBN : 9782296133341
IMPORTING THE IRISH MODEL: GLOBALIZATION AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP IN BARBADOS
Jean-Paul Révauger Université Michel de Montaigne-
This paper is based on primary sources collected over the years, and during field trips to Barbados. They include interviews with major players in the field of industrial relations during the 1990's, namely Sir John Goddard, chair of the Barbados Employers Confederation at the time of the 1991 crisis, and a major protagonist in the negotiations, and Sir Le Roy Trotman, president of the Barbados Workers Union, and equally prominent during the crisis. Leading academics were also interviewed, such as Doctor Lawrence Nurse and Professor Franck Alleyne. Many thanks to Professor Christine Barrow, of the University of the West Indies, for her help. Primary documents include the texts of the five Protocols, i.e. the tripartite agreements negotiated between government, employers' and employees' representatives. Many thanks also to the Barbados Workers Union for giving access to their archives, and in particular to Lady Walcott. The subject has also attracted a lot of academic interest, and a special issue of the Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies has been devoted to it1. Finally, institutional interest was also very significant, in particular on the part of the International Labour Organisation, which tried to promote the Barbadian way to social partnership in the whole region. In particular, the analysis provided by Tayo Fashoyin2 on the subject is probably the most comprehensive...