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May Wickramasuriya: A mother figure of local trade unionism 

13 Mar 2022

BY Sylvester Jayakody It is no exaggeration to say that comrade May Wickramasuriya, who exemplified the workings of the working class in our recent history, was the only woman to illuminate the golden age of the Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial, and General Workers Union (CMU). I do not think twice to say that for 42 years from 1956 to 1998, she was a courageous woman who made an active contribution to the workers of this country whilst remaining in the shadow of CMU’s former General Secretary comrade Bala Tampoe. This contribution by comrade Wickramasuriya, to the strengthening of the union as an independent, democratic, working-class organisation cannot be described in words. Her leadership in turning the CMU, one of the only trade unions that own a building, cannot be forgotten. The acquisition of the land and the erection and completion of this building was due to her hard work and contribution, which are indescribable acts of service. Accordingly, she has the honour not only of leading the organisation as the Deputy General Secretary – and this demonstrates the ability and capability of the working class – but also of taking the lead in creating a building that belongs to the organisation itself. She led a remarkable strike in the Colombo Port during the period of comrade Tampoe’s absence for a short period in the country.  Comrade Wickramasuriya was born into a middle-class family on 20 May 1924. When she was 18, her father died and she needed a job to support her family. Accordingly, as employment, she received her first appointment at the Admiralty Institute, Colombo during World War Two. She was in charge of 23 female clerks in the Admiralty. According to historical documents, it was a time when middle-class, educated women came to work as clerks and secretaries in businesses and British institutions. She later joined the Edwards, Reid, and Begg architects company and became a member of the CMU. She attended classes on Marxism conducted by comrade Tampoe of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party during the era, and became a member of the Left Book Club organised by them and turned to leftist politics.  Comrade Wickramasuriya was elected to the CMU’s Executive Committee in 1953 and became the first female member to hold such a position. She was elected later as an Assistant Secretary of the union in December 1955, and had since served as a full-time officer at the union headquarters. In 1980, she was elected as the Joint Secretary and was the most senior Secretary of the union until her death at the age of 74 on 13 December 1998. During her tenure as the CMU Secretary and Joint Secretary, from 1956 to 1998, comrade Wickramasuriya undertook the noble task of consolidating the organisational power of the working class. At that time, CMU membership was available only to employees in the clerical and administrative fields. The members were clerks, executives, accountants, auditors, chief clerks, and workers with similar titles.  Unfortunately today, an executive of a company feels that he/she is a shareholder or an owner. The recruitment of industrial workers like this writer took place after 1965. Her direct involvement in the making of the policy of the union contributed to raising the CMU flag as an independent and democratic mass organisation of the working class. The older comrades remember her with comradely devotion and respect. Comrade Wickramasuriya firmly believed in the consolidation of union members, depending on how the union administers its functions in accordance with the mindset of the members and their capacity to face reality. During that period, what was considered the backbone of the union was the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC), which was a must to enhance the independent strength and power of the clerks, executives, and administrators who were under the iron shoes of the British companies of the time within the bourgeois social structure. Up to 80 branches of the EFC were systematically affiliated with the CMU-EFC agreement and for the first time, she contributed generously, along with other stalwarts to win the 42 days of leave, the dispute resolution procedure, Rs. 2 per point of the cost of living index, retirement at 60 years, and many more facilities for workers. Her desire to see not only the membership but also the building of the solid foundation of the union in such a way as to boost the confidence and courage of the working class was realised when her pioneering efforts led to the emergence of the union building. Even today, this is a permanent legacy of the working class. Comrade Wickramasuriya served with the political thoughts and ideas of comrade Tampoe, who undertook the challenge of maintaining an organisation of this nature within a bourgeois government and state structure – a democratic, independent, working-class organisation of the working people for the workers who were under the control of the British rulers. Comrade Wickramasuriya worked very closely to fulfil this aspiration, and became the wife of comrade Tampoe, sharing his revolutionary, socialist ideas and was his shadow during the period of all the struggles. In 1995, she became seriously ill and was therefore unable to actively participate in the work of the union as before. After her death on 13 December 1998, she was revered by thousands of CMU members as a courageous fighter of the working class. This was evidenced by the large number of CMU members present at her funeral. In an interview with her, she said: “When the English invaded the Suez Canal in 1956, we organised a protest march at very short notice. I was the only woman present. It was unusual for a woman to take part in a protest, and people shouted from the sidewalk: ‘There’s a woman in the procession.’” Of course, it is no exaggeration to say that she is the mother of us all. From 1971 to 1974, comrade Tampoe spent three years representing the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the detained youth in the Criminal Justice Commission during which period comrade Wickramasuriya and comrade Vernon Wijesinghe were there to carry on with the day-to-day affairs of the union and advise us on the work of the union. She became a mother-like figure to all of us. She intervened between comrade Tampoe and other comrades as and when there were issues between them when comrade Tampoe sometimes acted in a harsh and unyielding manner. One day, when one of my children fell ill, Aand I was talking to comrade Wickramasuriya while she was driving me to see a doctor in her car, I asked her about her childlessness, to which she said: “We have decided not to have children. If there were children, will there be any freedom to work in such an organisation?”, which brought a tear to my eye. Have you or I made such a sacrifice? (The writer is the CMU’s General Secretary)


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