Parliament will take up for debate this week the Industrial Disputes (Special Provisions) Bill to give more powers to the Presidents of the labour tribunals as Additional Magistrates “to hear, try, determine and dispose of all suits or prosecutions under the provisions of specified enactments and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”The decision to take up the Bill for debate was made at the last Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labour and Foreign Employment held at the parliamentary complex recently with Minister Manusha Nanayakkara presiding, Parliament sources said.

 The new Bill, published in the Gazette dated April 8 2022, has provisions enabling the President of a labour tribunal to act as an Additional Magistrate and vesting him with power and authority to hear, try, determine and dispose of cases in a summary way “by virtue of the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979 in relation to the enforcement of any award made by any arbitrator or industrial court or any order made by the labour tribunal under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act (Chapter 131) or any decision of the Commissioner or recovery of payment upon a certificate issued by the Commissioner or implementation of the provisions of the specified enactments.

“The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979 and Evidence Ordinance (Chapter 14) shall apply to and in relation to the procedure to hear, try, determine and dispose of the suits or prosecutions before the labour tribunal,” the bill says.

Commissioner General of Labour Prabath Chandrakeerthi, explaining the provisions in the Bill said that currently cases where an employer terminated the employment of an employee are heard by a labour tribunal as per the provisions of existing Industrial Disputes Act. With regard to the cases pertaining to disputes on Employees’ Provident Fund, wages, other terms and conditions, litigation takes place at the Magistrates’ Courts. At present there are more than 16,000 cases that have been filed before about 80 Magistrate Courts countrywide. This limitation causes a delay and aggrieved parties are at a disadvantage because of the delayed justice. The dispute resolution process could be expedited if the presidents of labour tribunals give more powers to hear such cases. There are 37 established labour tribunals countrywide.

Minister Nanayakkara’s predecessor incumbent Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva, Deputy Chairman of the Committees, Angajan Ramanathan and MP Jagath Pushpakumara and officials from the Ministry of Labour and its statutory bodies were present at the meeting.