The date was finally fixed for February 1965. On 18 February 1965, the Gambia became an independent State and Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara who was knighted by the Queen of England became the country's first president. Although Cham Joof was a member of Dawda Jawara's party (the PPP), he was not one of the main political figures of this party, neither before nor after independence. Cham Joof's involvement in the trade union movement was inspired by Edward Francis Small – a member of the Aku group who formed the first trade union in the Gambia in 1929 – The Bathurst Trade Union and in 1935 the Gambia Labour Union. During the colonial era, there was no Wage Control Board. Gambian workers were required to either accept the low wages paid to them or leave their employment. To oppose this, Edward Francis organized a national strike which lasted for 82 days. The strike however did not achieve its overall objective as low wages and forced taxation continued right up to 1961. In the 1961 groundnut trade season, Cham Joof (a member of the Select Committee) and his associates at the Gambia Workers' Union organized a national strike on behalf of the daily paid workers. The strike went on for five days. Momodou Ebrima Jallow (commonly known as M. E. Jallow), who was then leader of the Gambia Workers' Union, was left with the task to negotiate wage terms with the Chambers of Commerce. The Chambers of Commerce told Jallow to persuade the workers to return to work and their wages will be paid. The workers gathered at the KGV (King George V) playing ground at "Half-Die" in Banjul to await Jallow's report. Jallow reported to the workers the successful negotiation and asked them to return to work. Cham Joof was suspicious of the British administration and strongly believed that Jallow was being fooled. To express his disapproval, Cham Joof went on the stage and told all the workers not to return to work until their wage demands were met. In Wolof, Jallow told Cham Joof: "You are setting the nation on fire," to which Cham Joof replied: "I will burn it until it turns to ashes... positive action is the order of the day, nobody is going to work for them." Cham Joof spearheaded a demonstration in Banjul and after their meeting, Jallow was arrested. Cham Joof moved the crowd of demonstrators near his house and set up a Strike Committee which drafted letters of protest and petitions and sent out to international organizations including the United Nations.