Clotil Walcott
Encyclopedia
Clotil Walcott was a trade unionist in Trinidad and Tobago.
in search of employment. She attended the St. Joseph Roman Catholic school and then the Arima Roman Catholic School. Her first working experience was in a dry goods store and later began work at the Ministry of Agriculture's Central Experimental Station at Centeno but, a few years later, was among a group of workers at the Station who were ‘laid off’ on grounds of redundancy.
In February 1964, she began employment at the Cannings Poultry Processing Plant in Arima. This was a branch of the larger Cannings Group of Companies which included, among its many subsidiaries, a chain of supermarkets, stationery stores, meat wholesalers, a soft drink and ice cream factory and many others. According to Walcott, it was her bitter experiences with both the union and the employer while working with this company for fifteen years which, helped to develop her interest in the oppression and exploitation of working women.
(UCIW). This union was eventually replaced as the representative union for the Cannings workers by the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) and in 1967 she joined that union. In her own words …
“I became particularly concern about the problems of the working women being oppressed and exploited, to do this effectively I discovered I had also to be conversant with the problems of male workers.”
From about 1966, Walcott began to participate actively in politics. Initially this comprised mainly activities involved in electoral campaigns in support of people seeking political office. During the period 1969-1972, she became a member of NJAC - The National Joint Action Committee
and participated in the Black Power and Black consciousness movement which swept the country.
It was in 1974 that she was approached by domestic worker
s for assistance with their plight of non-recognition or protection by the existing labour laws in Trinidad and Tobago which did not recognise domestics as “workers” under Industrial Relations Act 1972. In response, along with James Lynch, Salisha Ali and others, the National Union of Domestic Employees (NUDE) was established as a section of the Union of Ship Builders, Ship Repairers and Allied Workers Union (USSR).
The bulletin announcing its formation stated: “Calling all persons serving in the capacity of cooks, kitchen helpers, maids, butlers, seamstresses, laundresses, barmen, babysitters, chauffeurs, messengers, yardmen and household assistants” heralding the union’s concern with low income workers more generally in addition to domestic workers.
“I felt it my duty to find a platform through which I could influence a programme and promote the women’s role in our society… I had the opportunity of encouraging one of the leading platform speaker Mrs. Jennifer Johnson of the DAC to give prominence to both the international and local aspect of women Progressive Programme …”
Later she would shift her allegiance, as many trade unionists would, to the United Labour Front
. In addition, she was also a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Peace Council, a branch of the World Peace Council
, under the leadership of Dr. James Millette and sold copies of the newspaper Moko through the streets of Port of Spain
.
On May Day 1979, at a Trade Union Rally, she delivered a paper entitled:-
These four essays were published in a booklet entitled "Fight Back Says a Woman", by the Institute of Social Studies
, The Hague in the 1980s.
She would subsequently speak at conferences in Vienna, Austria; Turin, Italy; Nairobi, Kenya; Beijing, China and London in The United Kingdom as well as Kingston, Jamaica. NUDE became the local representative of the International Wages for Housework Campaign.
Early experiences
Six years after Clotil Walcott was born her parents moved to ArimaArima
The Royal Borough of Arima is the fourth largest town in Trinidad and Tobago. Located east of the capital, Port of Spain, Arima supports the only organised indigenous community in the country, the Santa Rosa Carib Community and is the seat of the Carib Queen...
in search of employment. She attended the St. Joseph Roman Catholic school and then the Arima Roman Catholic School. Her first working experience was in a dry goods store and later began work at the Ministry of Agriculture's Central Experimental Station at Centeno but, a few years later, was among a group of workers at the Station who were ‘laid off’ on grounds of redundancy.
In February 1964, she began employment at the Cannings Poultry Processing Plant in Arima. This was a branch of the larger Cannings Group of Companies which included, among its many subsidiaries, a chain of supermarkets, stationery stores, meat wholesalers, a soft drink and ice cream factory and many others. According to Walcott, it was her bitter experiences with both the union and the employer while working with this company for fifteen years which, helped to develop her interest in the oppression and exploitation of working women.
Trade Union activist
In 1965 Clotil Walcott began her activities in the Labour Movement by joining the Union of Commercial and Industrial WorkersUnion of Commercial and Industrial Workers
The Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers is a trade union in Trinidad and Tobago which was once one of the major unions organising shop workers. It has since diminished in both size and significance....
(UCIW). This union was eventually replaced as the representative union for the Cannings workers by the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) and in 1967 she joined that union. In her own words …
“I became particularly concern about the problems of the working women being oppressed and exploited, to do this effectively I discovered I had also to be conversant with the problems of male workers.”
From about 1966, Walcott began to participate actively in politics. Initially this comprised mainly activities involved in electoral campaigns in support of people seeking political office. During the period 1969-1972, she became a member of NJAC - The National Joint Action Committee
National Joint Action Committee
The National Joint Action Committee is a black nationalist political party in Trinidad and Tobago.-History:The party was established in February 1969 by Makandal Daaga , who was dissatisfied with the fact that most businesses in Trinidad at the time were owned by the white minority...
and participated in the Black Power and Black consciousness movement which swept the country.
It was in 1974 that she was approached by domestic worker
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
s for assistance with their plight of non-recognition or protection by the existing labour laws in Trinidad and Tobago which did not recognise domestics as “workers” under Industrial Relations Act 1972. In response, along with James Lynch, Salisha Ali and others, the National Union of Domestic Employees (NUDE) was established as a section of the Union of Ship Builders, Ship Repairers and Allied Workers Union (USSR).
The bulletin announcing its formation stated: “Calling all persons serving in the capacity of cooks, kitchen helpers, maids, butlers, seamstresses, laundresses, barmen, babysitters, chauffeurs, messengers, yardmen and household assistants” heralding the union’s concern with low income workers more generally in addition to domestic workers.
Politics
During the 1976 election campaign of 1976, she supported the Democratic Action Congress (DAC) a centre party, because in her own words –“I felt it my duty to find a platform through which I could influence a programme and promote the women’s role in our society… I had the opportunity of encouraging one of the leading platform speaker Mrs. Jennifer Johnson of the DAC to give prominence to both the international and local aspect of women Progressive Programme …”
Later she would shift her allegiance, as many trade unionists would, to the United Labour Front
United Labour Front
The United Labour Front was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago and the main opposition party between 1976 and 1986.-History:The party was established in 1975 by union leaders in an attempt to unify the mainly black workers in the oil industry with the mainly Indian workers in the sugar...
. In addition, she was also a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Peace Council, a branch of the World Peace Council
World Peace Council
The World Peace Council is an international organization that advocates universal disarmament, sovereignty and independence and peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass destruction and all forms of discrimination...
, under the leadership of Dr. James Millette and sold copies of the newspaper Moko through the streets of Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
.
Written works
Driven by the failure to get her views aired in the press, Walcott did her own publishing. She taught herself to type with two fingers, and bought a typewriter. Using this she prepared stencils which were printed on Gestetner machines by friends and associates. On completion these pamphlets were sold by Clotil herself at fifty cents each, around the town, at political meetings and at the parliament building. Four of these early publications dealt with her struggle at the Cannings Poultry Processing Plant and were entitled:- The Exploitation of Working-Class Women –v- Cannings Ltd. Guilty? Part I.
- A Woman’s Fight – An example of Exploitation of The Working-Class Woman. Part II.
- Women’s Aim Now is to end Exploitation. Part III.
On May Day 1979, at a Trade Union Rally, she delivered a paper entitled:-
- Working-Class Woman Speaks Out.
These four essays were published in a booklet entitled "Fight Back Says a Woman", by the Institute of Social Studies
Institute of Social Studies
The International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague is a unique, independent and international graduate school in the social sciences...
, The Hague in the 1980s.
International work
In 1980, Walcott was invited by Maria Mies and Rhoda Reddock to attend an international conference on Women’s Struggles and Research at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague in The Netherlands. That was an important turning point in her development. It was at this meeting that she met Selma James and Wilmette Brown of the International Wages for Housework Campaign. Immediately the connection between the rights of domestic workers and the struggle for the recognition of women’s unwaged domestic labour became clear and from henceforth a relationship would develop which would continue for close to thirty years.She would subsequently speak at conferences in Vienna, Austria; Turin, Italy; Nairobi, Kenya; Beijing, China and London in The United Kingdom as well as Kingston, Jamaica. NUDE became the local representative of the International Wages for Housework Campaign.
Successes
Amongst the successes attributed to Clotil Walcott and her campaigns through the NUDE were:- The passing of the Minimum Wages and Terms and Conditions of Service for Household Assistants Order under the Minimum Wages Act Chapter 88:04:18- 17, November 1982; This included - minimum wages, a 44 hour work week; overtime rates for public holidays, maternity leave, vacation leave etc.;
- The passing of the Unremunerated Work Act, 1995 which allows for the counting of unwaged work in national statistics. This made Trinidad and Tobago one of the first countries in the world to pass such legislation and the Trinidad and Tobago language being used as the model for the Beijing Declaration on Women.
Honours
Over the years, Clotil Walcott's were recognised by many organisation including:- 9 June 1984 - Bank and General Workers UnionBank and General Workers UnionThe Bank and General Workers Union , a former trade union in Trinidad and Tobago, was formed on 17 April 1974 and represented workers in over 60 companies, including all the workers at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. It merged with the Bank Employees Union on 21 February 2003 to form the...
Grand Certificate of Honour for service and dedication in the trade union movement.
- 1985 - The Star Citizen Award - Peoples Popular Movement.
- 1991 - Servant and Hero of Labour Award - Council of Progressive Trade Unions (CPTU).
- 1991 - Network of NGO’s for the Advancement of Women for Outstanding Contribution to the Women’s Movement.
- 8 March 1998 - Guardian Women of Trinidad and Tobago Award - for her sterling contributions to the social life of Trinidad and Tobago.
- 1995 - The Partners of The Americas - In Recognition of your 30 years of dedicated service which achieved recognition of the value of women’s work.
- 31, August 1998 - The Humming Bird Medal (silver) - for Loyal and Devoted service to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the sphere of Trade Unionism.
- 24, January 1999, Women of the Year - Women Working for Social Progress,
- 2000 - The Mayor, members of Council and the Burgesses of Arima award for Community Service in Recognition of her Contribution towards the Development of Arima.
- 8, March 2003- Network of NGO’s for the Advancement of Women - International Women’s Day 2003 as a Pioneering Women.
- 8, March 2006 - Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, in recognition of her contribution to the creation of legislation for the counting of unwaged work.
Note
Most of the information for this article, and much of the text, has been reproduced from a tribute written by Dr. Rhoda Reddock following Clotil Walcott's death on 20 November 2007. Clotil Walcott 1925-2007 - A Tribute - By Dr. Rhoda ReddockSee also
- National Union of Domestic EmployeesNational Union of Domestic EmployeesThe National Union of Domestic Employees is a trade union in Trinidad and Tobago.In 1974, Clotil Walcott, along with James Lynch, Salisha Ali and others, established The National Union of Domestic Employees as a section of the Union of Ship Builders, Ship Repairers and Allied Workers Union...
- Global Women’s Strike