Ceylon Petroleum Corporation vs Athauda Seneviratne and Others – SC APPEAL NO. 50/2016-2018

In the case between Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Inter Company Employees Union (representing 26 former employees), the court addressed whether an “Industrial Dispute” existed under Section 48 of the Industrial Disputes Act between CPC and employees who had moved to Lanka IOC and whether referral to arbitration under Section 4(1) was valid. The court held that a continuing employment relationship, arising from the tri-party agreement, Memorandum of Understanding, and Cabinet decisions, sustained the character of an industrial dispute. The appeal was dismissed, and CPC was ordered to pay the claimed amounts, reaffirming that broad contractual or statutory links may sustain an industrial dispute beyond direct employment status. The decision interprets the scope of “Industrial Di