§ 20. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will state the terms on which the recent general strike in the Bahamas was ended; and what steps he proposes to eliminate the workers' grievances.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe dispute between the taxi-cab union and the tour 1021 company operators, which led to the general strike, has been settled by a detailed legal agreement, a copy of which I am placing in the Library of the House. It is not possible to summarise its contents shortly, but it provides in detail for the way in which passengers from the airport should be transported in cars belonging to the two parties to the dispute. There were no specific terms on which the general strike ended, but, broadly speaking, there was a return to work on the same terms as those applying before the strike, wherever jobs were available.
With regard to the last part of the Question, the Governor informs me that it is now hoped that there will be support in the House of Assembly for the enactment of legislation for three purposes: first, to govern the remuneration and conditions of service of hotel workers and to provide machinery for dealing with grievances; second, to set up effective machinery for collective bargaining and to enable hotel and agricultural workers to form their own trade unions; and thirdly, to establish a Labour Department on the lines proposed in the Grossmith-Ogilvie Report—made by two members of my Department.
§ Mr. AllaunWhilst I note that reply, will the Minister agree that the matters referred to on the Order Paper, particularly in Question 42, are the ones underlying the dispute? Should they not be satisfied immediately to prevent further unrest, and do they not go beyond the three matters to which he has referred?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI will answer Question 42 when we get to it.