On 11 May 1938, the British House of Commons heard that employers and workers in Trinidad’s oil industry had agreed in principle to refer a wage dispute to arbitration. The Colonial Office said Trinidad legislation allowed a tribunal appointed by the Governor, but only at the parties’ request and with their consent. Arbitration offered a formal channel after the 1937 uprising; its terms still placed the Governor and colonial institutions at the center of dispute settlement. The date is the parliamentary report, not a claimed commencement date for the Ordinance.
The British Secretary of State for the Colonies told Parliament on 28 June that strikes spread northward to the sugar areas and Port of Spain on 22 June 1937, after unrest began in the oilfields....
A 28 June 1937 statement in the British House of Commons reported that on 23 June the Governor had informed officials of unrest in Rio Claro: police fired back at a crowd and four people were...
On 21 July 1937, the British House of Commons discussed a commission to investigate the Trinidad and Tobago disturbances. The stated terms included examining their causes and the government’s...
The Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) was formed on 25 July 1937 in the aftermath of the labour uprising. With Butler in hiding, he designated Adrian “Cola” Rienzi to lead in his stead. The union...
On 9 September 1937, Tubal Uriah Butler surrendered after remaining in hiding following the June uprising. The National Trust records that he faced sedition charges and was jailed for two years for...
👉 Parliament reports oil workers’ wage dispute referred to arbitration
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11 May 1938
On 11 May 1938, the British House of Commons heard that employers and workers in Trinidad’s oil industry had agreed in principle to refer a wage dispute to arbitration. The Colonial Office said...
On 1 July 1946, Trinidad and Tobago held its first Legislative Council election under universal adult suffrage. Voting rights were extended to women and men aged 21 and over, removing earlier income...
On 28 October 1946, County Council elections were held under universal adult suffrage. The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago records that Tobago was treated as one county in the July Legislative...
In the 18 September 1950 election, the Butler Party won six of the 18 elected seats, the largest bloc for any single party. The National Archives describes the party’s victory as anti-colonial, but...
Trinidad and Tobago became independent from British rule. Political sovereignty did not automatically end economic inequality, racialized hierarchies, or colonial-era institutions shaped by slavery...
Students and activists marched from the University of the West Indies campus to Port of Spain in protest against racism and in solidarity with Caribbean students facing discrimination at Sir George...
