James Manswell

Who was James Manswell?

James Isaac Alexander Manswell, was born in Brighton La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago. He briefly entered the teaching profession in 1945 before joining the Civil Service on 14 July 1946 as a 2nd Class Clerk at the Port of Spain Magistracy. In 1950 he was elected Secretary of the Staff Side of the Magistracy Division of the Civil Service and followed that in 1955 by being elected to the Executive of the Civil Service Association representing the Eastern Counties.

He became the Assistant Secretary of the CSA in 1960 at a time when Hugh Harris was the President and O. E. Morle the Secretary. The CSA appointed Manswell as it first full-time General Secretary in 1961.

In addition to his work for the CSA, he was also General Secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Labour Congress and later its President. He was part of the workers delegation to the International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organisation representing the Labour Congress in 1978 and on fourteen subsequent occasions. He was nominated by the Labour Congress to a number of State Boards including the T&T Mortgage Finance Company and the Investment Committee of the National Insurance Board.