Priyantha Serasundara vs Commissioner General of Labour – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO.284/10-2014

In Priyantha Serasundara and 453 others (employees) v. Commissioner General of Labour, Minister of Labour Relations and Foreign Employment, Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Ltd., and Dr. Irvin Jayasuriya (Arbitrator), the court addressed whether the Arbitrator’s award, which determined that the petitioners had vacated their positions following a strike, was made within jurisdiction. It was held that the Arbitrator acted within jurisdiction in finding that the prolonged absence of the petitioners, following an invitation to resume work, constituted vacation of post rather than unlawful dismissal. The principle reaffirmed was that arbitrators must operate within their terms of reference, and that vacation of post encompasses both the opportunity to return to work and the employees’ failure to d