Bala Tampoe

Bala Tampoe (1922 ? - ) was general secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General Workers Union (CMU) in Sri Lanka.

Trade union activities

The CMU was originally built in 1928 as a white-collar union in the mercantile sector. After Bala Tampoe became its general secretary in February 1948, the union came under the influence of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), which at the time was part of the Fourth International. In the 1950s and 1960s, Tampoe was known for his militant challenges to the political decisions of the government of the day. In 1963, he led a strike in the Colombo port that escalated into an all-island general strike and defied the government of Sirima Bandaranaike when it invoked its emergency powers.

When the LSSP left the Fourth International to join the Bandaranaike government in 1964, Tampoe became a central leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary), which the United Secretariat of the Fourth International recognised as its section.

He held his position as CMU general secretary into his 80s and still participates actively in major negotiations with the government and employers.

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