Consequences British West Indian labour unrest of 1934–39

as result of disturbances, british government created moyne commission, headed lord moyne, investigate had transpired. members visited british caribbean territories between november 1938 , february 1939, looking @ conditions in housing, agriculture, hospitals, asylums mentally ill, leper homes, prisons, factories, docks, schools, orphanages, land settlement, , political , constitutional matters. heard formal evidence in 26 centres 370 witnesses or groups of witnesses, , received , considered 789 memoranda of evidence. investigation regarded great seriousness, seen high level of public interest , numbers, status , range of organisational affiliation of giving evidence; both latter , had been in active rebellion saw channel achieving reform. moyne report pinpointed outdated land-tenure structure , remnants of plantation system chief culprits in economic crisis facing west indies, , recommended federation of west indian colonies ideal policy should directed , beginning federation of windward (grenada, saint vincent, saint lucia, dominica) , leeward (antigua, saint kitts-nevis-anguilla, montserrat) islands. however, rejected idea of immediate independence , introduction of universal adult suffrage, both of featured among workers demands.

the report issued in 1939 not published in full until 1945, lest provide propaganda source axis powers. based on recommendations, colonial development , welfare act became law in july 1940, providing framework reform in welfare , development in entire british empire. allowed £5m spent yearly on colonial development , welfare ten years , £500,000 annually colonial research indefinitely. colonial development , welfare department established in 1940 , appropriate staff assembled in regional territories in 1941. still, due wartime exigencies, little achieved in region 1945.

in jamaica, settlement of 1938 unrest laid foundations country s modern party system. alexander bustamante led strike on frome estate sugar plantation after wage-and-hours dispute. excitement generated there spread dockworkers , street cleaners, producing general strike suppressed british forces. bustamante jailed seventeen months, becoming labour martyr; cousin norman manley helped settle strike. manley became popular september, had organised people s national party support of trade union congress (later become national workers union). bustamante, once released, began organise own party, , in 1943, backed bustamante industrial trade union (bitu), led, founded jamaica labour party. 2 parties have remained dominant ever since. other leaders identified working class aspirations emerged, including grantley adams of barbados, served legal counsel of arrested in 1937; , albert gomes of trinidad, became popular political speaker during period , elected port of spain city council.

strong trade unions continued develop around caribbean. these collected data on working conditions , wage levels, , became mass movements associated political parties. besides bitu, national workers union arose in jamaica, labour party of st. kitts , st. kitts-nevis trades , labour union, , unions , parties in antigua. of same general view regarding wages , salaries workers.