Bala Tampoe (23 May 1922 – 1 September 2014) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n lawyer and a trade unionist. He was the

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General Workers Union (CMU) in

Early life and education

Born on 23 May 1922 to a prominent family in Jaffna, he was educated at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a Single-sex education, selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academ ...

and gained a BSc degree from the newly established

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Unive ...

in 1943 and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

in 1944. Later he studied law at the

Colombo Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...

and became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However ...

, practicing criminal law.Comrade Bala Tampoe – an icon of Trade Unionism

Trade union activities

He became a lecturer in Botany and Horticulture in the Department of Agriculture. He came into the limelight after his dismissal from public service, for participating in the strike of public servants in 1947. Soon after he joined the CMU. The CMU was originally built in 1928 as a white-collar union in the mercantile sector. After Tampoe became its general secretary in February 1948, the union came under the influence of the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமாஜக் கட்சி), is a major Trotskyist politica ...

(LSSP), which at the time was part of the

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) is a revolutionary socialist international organization consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky, also known as Trotskyists, whose declared goal is the overthrowing of global capitalism and the establishment of ...

. 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 The Fourth International (FI), founded in 1938, is a Trotskyist international. In 1963, following a ten-year schism, the majorities of the two public factions of the Fourth International, the International Secretariat and the International Com ...

recognised as its section. Tampoe unsuccessfully contested the March 1960 general election, July 1960 general election and the 1965 general election from the Colombo Central electorate. After Tampoe died, Sylvester Jayakody became the current General Secretary of the CMU.

References

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External links

Historical Photos of Bala Tampoe
*, 21 February 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tampoe, Bala 1922 births 2014 deaths Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil trade unionists Sri Lankan Trotskyists Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) Alumni of the University of London Sri Lankan expatriates in the United Kingdom