Volanka Ltd. v. All Ceylon Commercial and Industrial Workers’ Union and Others – sllr 2002 volume 3 page 359

In the case between Volanka Limited and All Ceylon Commercial and Industrial Workers’ Union and Others, the Supreme Court addressed whether the dismissal of the union’s secretary for holding an unauthorized meeting on the employer’s premises was legally justified. It was determined that the arbitrator’s treatment of the respondent’s representative union capacity as mitigating misconduct constituted an error of law. The principle established was that contractual obligations under a collective agreement supersede the representative status of an employee in determining misconduct. The judgment relied on the interpretation of collective agreements and judicial standards governing errors of law apparent on the face of the arbitrator’s record. The award of the arbitrator and the decision of the