Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation and Another v. The National Union of Workers – sllr 1992 volume 1 page 171

The case between Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation (and another) and The National Union of Workers (on behalf of S. Sebastian) addressed the issue of whether a workman’s service had been terminated or merely suspended by the employer, and the consequent jurisdiction of the Labour Tribunal under section 31(B)1 of the Industrial Disputes Act. It was held that the workman’s employment had only been suspended, not terminated, thus rendering the application to the Tribunal not maintainable due to lack of evidence of termination. The decision reaffirmed the principle that findings on termination or suspension must rest solely on the evidence adduced, without recourse to extraneous equitable considerations. Reliance was placed on the evaluation of cross-examination and the assessment of cre