Title: Industrial Relations Process and Practices

Author: Ashwelle E. Thomas, PhD

Publisher: Pelican Publishers Limited

Reviewer: Paul H. Williams

Industrial relations isn't a common classroom subject. Yet, it is integral to the efficient and effective operations of almost every organisation. It is a specialised field, which many people, including practitioners, don't fully understand.

To "help managers and organisation maximise their effectiveness and manage change by intentionally developing and sustaining high-quality labour/management relationship", Jamaican-born industrial relations practitioner Ashwelle E. Thomas, part-time lecturer, and a director of Goddard Enterprises in Barbados, has written Industrial Relations Process and Practices - A Caribbean Perspective.

As an educator and practitioner, he recognises the need for regionally published textbooks. The ones that are being used might have the relevant content, but the fundamentals of the whole labour movement in the Caribbean are lacking therein. These books highlight the labour history of the particular countries in which they were written.

Thomas says, "Industrial relations, as we read it, coming out of the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom, isn't put in a context which helps the Jamaican or Caribbean people to understand the evolutionary process of the whole management/labour relationships." The books address the various influences from the legal and management theories and attitudes formulated by managers coming out of the American and European environments.

labour movement

Thomas' book, which he calls a "groundbreaker", therefore, looks at the labour movement in several Caribbean countries, viz, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua. At a glance, it discusses 'Recognition of management and union rights and responsibilities'; 'Legal influences, theories, attitudes and practices'; 'Negotiating the collective agreement in the private and public sectors'; 'The outcome of the industrial relations process'; and, 'Industrial relations, globalisation and the 21st century'.

Though there are books on industrial relations written by other Caribbean authors, Thomas says this book "captures everything you want to teach in an industrial relations programme". The 'fullness' of the scope is how he puts it. "It has a theoretical perspective, the practical part of it in terms of the practices and it has case studies ... It has done what I don't think any industrial relations writer has done in recent times. It captures the union status in the employed labour movement."

The five-part, 14-chapter publication concludes with a look at the industrial relations challenges that labour and management face in this the 21st century. The theme of the book, thus, is labour cooperation, which is critical for the survival of any organisation. Cooperation is important at all levels between labour and management, and there needs to be a change in the attitude and approach by union leaders and management. They have to re-examine their roles. The adversarial approach by unions is not desirable, and management must stop believing that they are the only ones with 'the knowledge'.

less than the un-unionised

As it relates to union status, one important finding from his research is that the unionised labour force is much less than the un-unionised ones in the Caribbean, where it is 21 per cent. In Jamaica, unionised labour is only 15 per cent of the total labour force. Nevertheless, there is no real danger to the continued influence of unions.

Industrial relations practitioners, students and investors are the target readers. But, why investors? Thomas says, "If you are interested in a country and if you are mindful of the significance of labour to your investment and then you want to know what kind of labour environment exists, you'll also want to know what kind of labour practices are in place. You'll also want to know what impact the evolutionary process has on the labour movement, and on the culture of the people." These are issues that are addressed in the book. "It's for anyone who has an interest in industrial relations - it's a must for the library."