Volanka Ltd. v. Seneviratne Minister of Labour and Others – sllr 2000 volume 2 page 019

In Volanka Ltd v. Senaviratne, Minister of Labour, and others, the court examined the legality of referring an industrial dispute to compulsory arbitration under the Industrial Disputes Act. It was determined that the Minister possessed statutory authority under Section 4(1) to refer a dispute arising from a live collective agreement for arbitration. The findings established that the collective agreement remained operative despite claims of repudiation, the arbitrator was justified under Section 36(1) in requiring evidence regarding the petitioner’s capacity to pay, and the statement of the matter in dispute had been properly formulated in accordance with established legal standards. The petition for a writ of certiorari was dismissed with costs, reaffirming the Minister’s discretion under