February 20 1995

Mrs Dawn Edwards-Raynold has asked me to write this reference letter on her behalf and I do so with pleasure.

She was a student of mine at the University of the West Indies some years ago and I remember her as a keen, bright, motivated student.

You will see from her curriculum vitae that she was enrolled in a B.Sc. programme specializing in Economics. She successfully completed all her courses except two and this was because she had to relocate in Austria where her husband,who works with an international organisation, was posted. It was convenient from that location to pursue the B.Sc. degree (External) from London University. She will write the Finals in June 1995 and I expect she will be successful.

Mrs Dawn Edwards-Raynold has strong credentials for a teaching position. Apart from being formally trained as a teacher, she has a number of years teaching experience and she is a conscientious person who adopts a mature approach to her duties; these are attributes of a successful teacher. I have no hesitation in supporting her application for any post suited to her academic and experience credentials.

Dr Roy D. Thomas

Senior Lecturer,
Industrial Relations & Labour Economics,
Faculty of Social Sciences,
University of the West Indies

Dr. Roy Thomas was a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Science, University of the West Indies, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. He has since retired from UWI and is now the Director of the Cipriani Labour College in Trinidad & Tobago. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of industrial relations and labour manpower economics. Among his numerous publications are ''The Adjustments of Displaced Workers in a Labour- Surplus Economy'' (1972), and (ed) The Trinidad and Tobago Labour Riots of 1937: Perspectives 50 Years Later (1987). He jointly edited the Proceedings of the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD) Seminar on the Management of Public Sector Enterprises in the Caribbean (Antigua, 1979). In addition, he prepared a report for the United Nations Education and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) entitled "The Elaboration and Use of Socio-economic Indicators in the Caribbean Sub-Region.

His publication, The Development of Labour Law in Trinidad and Tobago, is a lucid account of the development of labour law in Trinidad and Tobago, covering both the colonial and independence periods. Dr. Thomas has provided an analytic framework for evaluating the impact of labour law on Trinidad and Tobago society. The major labour-related statutes, from the Masters and Servants Ordinance of 1846 to the Industrials Relations Act of 1972, are analyzed against the backdrop of the socioeconomic changes that influenced both the content of the statutes and the timing of their enactment. The book's analysis focuses on the intent of the statutes, the societal problems it was calculated to address and resolve and the interest groups affected by them. It also examines the extent to which the coercive apparatus of the state was used to enforce compliance. This analysis of labour law in Trinidad and Tobago reflects the struggle of working people for industrial emancipation.