Eksath Kamkaru Samithiya v. Ceylon Printers Limited and Others – sllr 1996 volume 2 page 317

In the case between EKSATH KAMKARU SAMITHIYA (Appellant Trade Union) and CEYLON PRINTERS LIMITED & Others (including Minister of Labour), the court addressed the issue of whether the Minister’s selective extension of a clause from a collective agreement—specifically regarding the payment of a Non-recurring Cost of Living Gratuity—and subsequent referral of a dispute to arbitration was valid under the Industrial Disputes Act. It was held that such an extension, amounting to an indirect attempt to achieve what was legally prohibited, was invalid. The principle reaffirmed was that indirect or circuitous action cannot be used to fulfill what the law expressly forbids, particularly in the context of referring disputes under the Industrial Disputes Act. Reliance was placed on established legal p