Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers
| Full name | Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 16, 1940 |
| Members | 5,000 |
| Head union | Helene Davis-Whyte, General Secretary |
| Affiliation | Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions |
| Office location | Kingston |
| Country | Jamaica |
The Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO) is a 5,000-member public sector trade union in Jamaica which represents workers in local and national government, governmental corporations, quasi-government bodies and other agencies created by statute. Its members are non-supervisory personnel and include fire-fighters with the Jamaica Fire Brigade, workers at the National Water Commission, non-nursing personnel in the health service, non-teachers in the schools, workers at the National Irrigation Commission and government employees in the 13 Parish Councils.
JALGO was formed in 1940. After a series of labor uprisings, colonial British authorities passed a reform law in December 1938 legalizing trade unionism in Jamaica. The Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) both were formed after passage of the trade union law.
BITU and TUC quickly elevated the wages of some manual laborers to a point where they were at the same level or even higher than clerical workers in local government. When white-collar workers employed by the city of Kingston began demanding wage increases, the colonial government set up a one-man commission to make recommendations. The white-collar workers consulted with Alexander Bustamante, Noel Nethersole and Frank Hill—leaders of the nascent Jamaican labor movement—on what to do. Bustamante and the others recommended the formation of a trade union to empower the workers.
On November 16, 1940, Kingston city workers formed the Municipal Officers Association. Although Bustamante and others had counseled an industrial union, membership in the new organization was limited to white-collar workers. Government workers throughout Jamaica flocked to the new union, and parish branches sprung up nationwide. The first general meeting of the union was held in June 1941 and a constitution adopted. The Municipal Officers Association quickly won improved salaries and benefits. Government workers decided that a national organization was needed to coordinate the activities of the parish branches, and the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO) was formed a short while later.
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