Another trade union, the Democratic Workers Congress (DWC), was formed in 1956 as a breakaway faction of the CWC as a result of leadership rivalries between the president, S. Thondaman, and the general secretary A. Aziz.

His party put forward eight candidates in the plantation electorates and seven of them were returned, they were Thondaman, S. M. Subbaiah (Badulla), G. R. Motha (Maskeliya), K. Rajalingam (Nawalapitiya), K. Kumaravelu (Kotagala), C. V. Velupillai (Talawakelle) and D. Ramanujam (Alutnuwara).

[2] The political potentiality of the Indian Tamil workers and the CIC led by Thondaman were viewed as threats to the power of the ruling United National Party.

The fear of Marxist control of the estates, as well as the pressure of Kandyan politicians, led to attempts to not to extend citizenship to the Indian Tamils of the newly independent nation, except under very stringent conditions.

Thondaman opposed those laws and argued that most of the Indians were permanent residents and were the sons and daughters of the soil as are the Sinhalese or the "Malabar Tamils".

Thondaman's political organization staged a non-violent satyagraha campaign against the implementation of citizenship laws and boycotted them for a period of time.

In September 1978, he was invited by President J. R. Jayawardhane to join the Cabinet, which he accepted after the Executive Council of the Ceylon Workers Congress decided to do so.

At the last legislative elections, held on 2 April 2004, the party was a minor partner in the UNP-dominated United National Front that won 37.8% of the popular vote and 82 out of 225 seats.