Ami Chandra - Union Leader

Union Leader

He was the founder of the Fiji Teachers Union in 1929 and its first President. He was mentor of many of the early trade unionists and was the inspiration behind the formation of the Chini Mazdur Sangh (now known as the Sugar General Workers Union) and the Gold Mine Workers Union of Vatukoula. He was seen as a person who could be trusted by all sections of the Indian community, for when the Kisan Sangh split into two factions in 1943, both sides agreed to have the union’s books audited by him. He was the president of the Fiji Industrial Workers Congress (now the Fiji Trades Union Congress), an umbrella organisation representing all but one of the unions in Fiji. He promoted multi-racial trade unions and opposed the participation of any trade union in politics.