17/06/2026
Today we remember the life and legacy of a revolutionary labour leader and community activist, Elma Francois, who was the first woman in Trinidad and Tobago to be charged and tried for sedition alongside her male counterparts Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler and others during the 1930s Labour movement. She was found to be “not guilty” after representing herself in court.
Francois dedicated her life’s work to fighting for the improved living and working conditions of working-class people in her birthplace of St. Vincent and later, in Trinidad. Throughout her life, she elevated the concerns of working-class women, encouraging them to deepen their political involvement.
Francois was a founding member of the National Unemployed Movement (NUM)—which later became the Negro Welfare Cultural and Social Association (NWCSA)—the Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union (SWWTU) and the Federated Workers’ Trade Union (FWTU)—now the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW).
Following her participation in the Labour Riots of 1937, she was arrested and accused of sedition. In February 1938, she became the first woman to be charged with sedition in Trinidad and Tobago. The charges were later dropped. She is remembered as a captivating public speaker, who always encouraged those around her to expand their political consciousness through reading and political organisation.
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Photo of Elma Francois taken from page 25 of “Elma Francois: The NWCSA and the Worker's Stuggle for Change in the Caribbean” by Rhoda Reddock. Published by New Beacon Books (1988). This book is part of the National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago’s Reference Collection.
References: Reddock, Rhoda. “Elma Francois: The NWCSA and the Workers Struggle for Change in the Caribbean.” New Beacon Books, 1988; Reddock, Rhoda. “The Women In Revolt.” The Trinidad Labour Riots of 1937: Perspectives 50 Years Later., by Roy Thomas, UWI Extra-Mural Studies Unit, 1987.
