Union Zindabad! — South Asian Canadian Labour History in British Columbia

At the 1949 IWA District Council No. 1 Convention in Vancouver Ranjit Singh of Victoria, seated at right, received
an enormous ovation from delegates when he contrasted the Canadian and Indian labour movements.
Art Jones photo, Vancouver Public Library 80796C.
He was a well-respected, religious man who
came to BC from Punjab in the 1950s. At a
sawmill in Nanaimo, Bains experienced anger
from White workers who felt South Asians were
working too hard, raising expectations of everyone.
A White worker further up the chain was deliberately
slowing down so that Bains had more work
to do. When Bains asked him to stop doing it the
worker said “I don’t speak your language”. 25
After becoming active in the IWA, Bains was
able to convince management to increase the
number of workers per shift so the work could be
more equally shared. Later, he took on executive
positions in the union at a time when South
Asians were just beginning to become active union
members. Still, Bains felt excluded within his
own union. Despite his picture in The Vancouver
Sun, the leaders of his local union asked him not
to stand near them when a photo of the entire
convention was taken. 26
Barriers of language and cultural expectations
could make union activism difficult. Once while
on strike, Bains received a phone call from his
brother-in- law, who had sponsored his travel and
provided him a place to live upon arrival. The call
was to tell him they had used their contacts with
25 Hugh Johnston, The Four Quarters of the Night: The Life-Journey of an Emigrant Sikh. McGill-Queens: 1995, 66.
26 Hugh Johnston, The Four Quarters of the Night, 67.
62 | UNION ZINDABAD! South Asian Canadian Labour History in British Columbia