SIERRA LEONE (Hansard, 17 February 1955)

§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (THE EARL OF MUNSTER)
My Lords, with your Lordships' permission I wish to make a statement similar to that which has been made in another place by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies on the situation in Sierra Leone.
For some time two unions in Sierra Leone have been negotiating, through a joint industrial council, for wage increases. A deadlock was reached on the 4th February. The employees adhered to a demand for an increase of 10d. a day, while the employers offered an increase of 6d. with a promise to re-open negotiations as soon as new cost of living figures were available. The employers asked for arbitration if their offer was not accepted. The employees' representatives refused both the offer and to go to arbitration. They invited all workers to a mass meeting at which it was decided to call a general strike on February 9. The Railway Workers' Union publicly dissociated itself from this call, and on February 9 there was only a partial response. During the next two days the strikers caused a series of disturbances at the railway workshops and the port installations and a number of arrests were made.
On Friday, the 11th, strike leaders and the leader of an Opposition political Party addressed a meeting of strikers. The strikers were promised the Opposition Party's support, and the failure to get their demands was blamed on the political Party in power. The meeting was orderly but was followed by serious rioting. The railway workshops, the dock areas and the Eastern police station were attacked by the strikers. Troops stood by to help the police who were becoming exhausted after two days' continual pressure, and in the afternoon began operations in support of them. One company relieved the Eastern police station, which was in danger of being burned down with men inside it. The police fired a number of rounds of rifle fire in defending the area of the police station. There were three casualties among the strikers and one European police officer was fatally injured by the crowd.
Rioting spread, and continued into the next day, Saturday, February 12. 204 Attempts were made to dislocate essential service installations, road communications, water and electricity supplies, and the telephone system, at key points. The Governor states that these appeared to be carefully planned and executed. Three companies of troops were fully engaged during this period. They and the police had to open fire a number of times in their attempts to control the widespread rioting, and to prevent the looting, arson and general destruction of property which was going on.
On Saturday afternoon the strike leaders approached the Government. The Governor informed them that he would appoint a Commission of Inquiry to look into all circumstances of the dispute and the disturbances: and that he would immediately set up a Conciliatory Committee to bring workers' and employers' sides together again. On this the strike was called off. Rioting immediately died down. Patrols and a curfew were maintained over the weekend and on Monday there was an almost complete return to work. Troops were withdrawn on the same day and the curfew is being lifted to-day. Seventeen persons killed and eighty-four injured have been reported to date, but there may still be some casualties not yet reported. There were no serious casualties among the troops, but besides the police officer who was killed there were four others severely wounded and many suffered minor injuries.
The Conciliatory Committee has met several times but my right honourable friend, the Secretary of State, has not yet heard that they have reached a conclusion. My right honourable friend has expressed the regret and the grave concern of Her Majesty's Government at these happenings. My right honourable friend feels that he must await the report of the Commission of Inquiry before coming to any conclusions upon them.

§ LORD OGMORE
My Lords, I am sure we all greatly regret these happenings in a Colony which was making such good and steady progress, and we sympathise very much with the relatives of the European police officer who lost his life and with the relatives of all those who have been injured or have lost their lives in this disturbance. It is a sad happening and a serious one, when one considers how many people have been killed and injured. There are one or two questions 205 I feel I must ask the noble Earl. First, I notice from his statement that when the Governor informed the strike leaders that the Conciliatory Committee would be called together the strike was immediately called off and rioting died down. Was any attempt made by the Governor to contact the strike leaders with such an offer before the rioting took place? Secondly, the noble Earl was unable to give us the full figures of casualties. Has he any estimate of the figures of the likely casualties, in addition to those whose death or injury is known? Finally, with regard to the Commission of Inquiry, could the noble Earl inform us how that Commission will be constituted and who, in fact, constitute the Conciliatory Committee?

§ THE EARL OF LISTOWEL
My Lords, may I ask one question before the noble Earl replies? Can he say whether the Report of the Commission of Inquiry will be published—as I think it should be—and, if so, whether a copy of the Report could be placed in the Library of your Lordships' House?

§ THE EARL OF MUNSTER
My Lords, in answer to the noble Lord, Lord Ogmore, I would say that, as I mentioned, on Saturday, February 12, the strike leaders approached the Government, and when the Governor informed them that he would appoint a Commission of Inquiry and that a Conciliatory Committee would be set up the strike was called off. So far as my information goes, I do not think the Governor had had previous contact with the strike leaders, but he did draw their attention to the provision of Section 5 of the Trade Disputes Ordinance which had the effect of making it an offence for persons engaged in the maintenance of certain essential services wilfully and maliciously to break their contract of service. I do not think the Governor had any other contact with the strike leaders. I have no further information about casualties at the present time, but I will let the noble Lord have that information as soon as possible. With regard to the appointment of the Commission of Inquiry, my right honourable friend proposes that this should consist of a chairman from the United Kingdom, an expert on industrial relations, also appointed from the United Kingdom, and two judicial members from West Africa. In reply to the question of the noble Earl, 206 Lord Listowel, on the publication of the Report, I would say that I have little doubt that the decisions reached by the Commission of Inquiry will be published, and I feel certain that my right honourable friend will be quite prepared to lay a copy in the Library of your Lordships' House.