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DE RUEHWN #1835/01 2901521
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R 171521Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3530
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1528
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
RUEHCV/USDAO CARACAS VE
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 001835 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR AND DRL 
USDOL FOR ILAB 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV ECON PREL PHUM BB XL
SUBJECT: BARBADOS' LABOR AND POLITICS:  A HISTORICAL 
OVERVIEW 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The stable democratic history of Barbados has 
been characterized by occasional periods of upheaval 
predicated by a lack of political, social and economic 
parity.  The Social Partnership, first established in 1993, 
was created to thwart the then-downward spiraling economy and 
provide a mechanism for government, private sector employers, 
and labor to collaborate on critical issues of national 
interest.  Now under its Fifth Protocol, the Partnership has 
proven to be a relatively successful tool of economic 
management and inclusive governance.  End Summary. 
 
Barbados Labor Politics: A Brief History 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  While Barbados has enjoyed a long democratic history, 
white-minority plantation owners and merchants of British 
descent dominated local politics until the 1930s.  The first 
election under universal suffrage was held in 1951, after 
much political wrangling between the established ruling class 
and the descendants of emancipated slaves fighting for 
representation and socio-economic parity.  Since then local 
politics have been dominated by the black majority. 
 
¶3.  In the early 20th century, Barbados was beleaguered by a 
depression in the sugar industry, which improved only briefly 
during World War I.  Labor tensions were relieved by the 
exodus of large numbers of poor and unemployed Barbadians to 
work on the construction of the Panama Canal.  However, the 
remittances they sent home led to the creation of a 
burgeoning black middle class that demanded more political 
and social rights.  The consolidation of the sugar industry 
to meet mounting economic pressures, as well as the influx 
and influence of pan-African nationalists and socialists, 
eventually brought tensions between the traditional labor 
class and the planter-merchant oligarchy to a head in 1937 
with four days of riotous rebellion. 
 
¶4.  Sir Grantley Adams, a lawyer and liberal pragmatist, 
helped found the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in 1938, 
intending to mobilize and direct the surge of workers' 
political activism following the riots.  (Note: the BLP was 
also known as the Barbados Progressive League from 1939-1944. 
 End note.)  The promotion of the organization as one 
dedicated to solidarity, political agitation, and social 
welfare helped it to garner a mass following within the first 
year.  Over time, Adams, leadership led to several reforms 
including legalized trade union activities and universal 
suffrage. 
 
¶5.  Until the early 1950,s, Adams was the leader of the BLP 
and by extension the Barbados Workers Union.  However, his 
political style of extracting concessions without irritating 
or directly confronting the ruling class frustrated the more 
radical anti-colonial elements of his party.  His growing 
conservatism and intolerance for different views within the 
ranks of his party as well as the union, eventually caused a 
rift within the BLP.  The younger, more progressive members 
of the party, including Errol Barrow, left the BLP and 
founded the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in 1955. 
 
¶6.  Since then the BLP and DLP have volleyed government 
control and membership quite civilly.  Over time, various 
other parties, spanning the spectrum from conservative to 
communist, have entered and exited the scene with varying 
levels of influence and success.  None have been able to 
maintain the popularity or longevity of the BLP or the DLP. 
(Note:  The socialist-leaning People's Empowerment Party, 
founded in 2006, has yet to gain any following of 
significance.  End note.)  In this environment, both parties 
constantly struggle to increase their power bases while 
maintaining their connection to their "labor" roots and 
simultaneously courting the economic influence of corporate 
Barbados. 
 
What is the Social Partnership? 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  When near-crisis levels of unemployment and inflation in 
the early 1990s threatened the socio-political stability of 
Barbados, the Social Partnership was conceived. 
The Social Partnership, now a cornerstone of participatory 
democracy in Barbados, was established in 1993, under the 
 
leadership of then-Prime Minister Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford 
of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP).  It is currently 
operating under its fifth Protocol, covering 2005-2007.  The 
current protocol is a formal structure which outlines the 
collaborative relationship between government, labor and 
employers to foster sustainable social and economic progress. 
 It serves as a framework to recognize their inherent 
interdependence and provide guidelines for collaboration and 
consultation on all aspects of national development. 
 
¶8.  The original protocol was designed to help ease tensions 
created by the economic crisis of the late 1980s and early 
1990s, brought on by the recession of the early 1980s and 
excessive government borrowing for public works projects. 
The first protocol of the Social Partnership was essentially 
a wage freeze and became an important element in the 
country's recovery from the seemingly inexorable economic 
decline of the early 1990s.  It set a path for sustained 
economic growth for the next 8 consecutive years, averaging 3 
per cent per year.  When the first protocol was implemented, 
unemployment stood at 24.3 per cent; it now stands at 8.5 per 
cent (December 2005). 
 
Who are the Social Partners? 
---------------------------- 
 
¶9.  The social partnership includes: 
 
GOVERNMENT: Since 1994, the Owen Arthur-led Barbados Labour 
Party (BLP), represented by three Ministers and 
representatives from the departments of Civil Service, 
Finance and Economic Affairs, Personnel and Labor. 
 
PRIVATE SECTOR: The Barbados Employers Confederation (BEC) - 
which includes Construction and Allied Services, 
Distribution, Garages, Manufacturers, Hospitality Services, 
Financial Services, Ancillary Services, as well as Travel, 
Utility and Energy employers and Employers Associations - 
Barbados Agricultural Management Company, Barbados Hotel and 
Tourism Association, Barbados Sugar Industry Limited, and the 
Shipping Association of Barbados, as well as the Barbados 
Private Sector Association (BPSA) and the Barbados Business 
Authority (BBA) 
 
LABOR UNIONS: Represented by the Congress of Trade Unions and 
Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), whose members 
include the Barbados Workers Union (BWU), Barbados Public 
Workers Union (BPWU), National Union of Public Workers 
(NUPW), Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), Barbados Secondary 
Teachers, Union (BSTU) and others. 
 
(Note:  The media are not currently included in the Social 
Partnership. End note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  Barbados has benefited from the unique though cumbersome 
mechanics of the Social Partnership, which has enabled the 
economy to grow continuously, albeit slowly, since 1993, 
discounting a brief recession in 2001.  The Social 
Partnership brought stability to Barbados by keeping historic 
rivalries between labor, employers, and government in check. 
While globalization and regional integration may pose new 
challenges for the social partners, the Social Partnership 
framework is unlikely to change much in the near term, given 
the Barbadian society's broad consensus on its importance to 
the well-being of the country. 
GILROY