Nikhil Trilokekar vs Commissioner General of Labour – CA/WRIT/533/2023-2025

In the case between expatriate airline pilots employed by SriLankan Airlines (notably Channa Gunathilaka and others) and the Commissioner General of Labour and SriLankan Airlines Limited, the central legal issue concerned entitlement to full wages and statutory dues (EPF and ETF) during compulsory no-pay leave implemented in response to COVID‑19. It was held that the pilots were entitled to receive full wages and statutory dues despite the absence of offered work, reaffirming the principle that wage obligations under the Wages Boards Ordinance are independent of work performed during the relevant period. The decision was grounded in statutory interpretation of the Wages Boards Ordinance (sections 2, 3D, 4, and 56) and established case law, underscoring that alternative remedies under indus