Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited vs. Commissioner General of Labour and Others – CA WRIT/243/2021-2022

In Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited v. Commissioner General of Labour and Others, the court addressed whether an Arbitrator’s award of a Rs.6,000 monthly salary special allowance for over three years to 40 executive officers was irrational, unlawful, or ultra vires under the Industrial Disputes Act. The court determined that the Arbitrator’s Award unjustifiably extended benefits beyond the scope of the original salary anomaly, which had already been rectified, and was thus irrational, unreasonable, and ultra vires the Arbitrator’s powers. The principles reaffirmed include the narrow scope of arbitral jurisdiction under labor law, the requirement for rational and evidence-based awards, and the retention of judicial discretion to grant writ relief where a decision is grossly unlawf