Annual report on the Falkland Islands and Dependencies / Colonial Office.

  • Great Britain. Colonial Office.
Date:
[1961]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Falkland Islands and Dependencies / Colonial Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/88 (page 9)
    An important item in the domestic economy is peat, the only fuel generally available, which is sold by the cart-load. A lorry-load (three cart-loads) costs 50s. and a year’s supply averages 15 to 40 loads, according to the size of the house, the number of fires, and the quality of the peat. Most of the local inhabitants cut and stack their own peat and have only the expense of carting it from the peat-bank. These banks are moving farther from Stanley as the years go by, and in some settlements in the Camp difficulty has been experienced in obtaining a good supply. LABOUR DEPARTMENT There is no Labour Department in the Colony. LABOUR RELATIONS There is one trade union, the Falkland Islands Labour Federation (general), with 550 paid-up members, a full-time secretary and an assistant secretary. The Labour Federation meets annually with the Sheepowners’ Association to draw up the yearly agreement between employers and workers in the Camp. There was one trade dispute in the period under review, but it was confined to several farms on the East Falk¬ land where there was a loss of some seven to 10 days’ working-time. No labour legislation was enacted. SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE There are no factories or industries in the Colony other than sheep farming, and consequently there is no legislation dealing with safety, health and welfare in work places. Accidents at work come within the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance, enacted in 1960. This Ordinance is a revision of earlier legislation on the subject, and it enlarges the class of persons who can qualify for compensation to include all employed in manual labour and all those listed in a schedule to the Ordinance. It also increased the amount of compensation payable, limited the extent of the employers’ liability, and included the power to require employers or classes of employers to insure against the liabilities they may incur under its provisions. There is no legislation or other provision for the payment of unemployment benefits.