Kahagalage and 5 Others vs. Wijesekera and 5 Others – sllr 2011 volume 2 page 159

In the case between six petitioners, security guards of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), and the Railway authorities (including the General Manager of Railways and relevant government officers), the court addressed whether the RPF constitutes a “Force” within the meaning of Article 15(8) of the Constitution, and whether the prohibition against trade union activity and the denial of overtime payments violated fundamental rights. It was held that the RPF is not a “Force” as intended by Article 15(8) but rather a service with defined duty hours, rendering the prohibition against forming or joining trade unions invalid under Article 14(1)(d). The court further found that failure to pay overtime for work exceeding the normal eight-hour shift constituted a violation of the petitioners’ fundam