Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two magistrate courts in Sri Lanka have failed to uphold the labour rights of workers over the course of decades. Although compensation was awarded in both cases, the employers failed to comply and the cases are ongoing. One has been continuously postponed for 16 years the other is due to be abandoned on a technicality after almost thirty years. Despite following legal procedures and engaging lawyers, neither group of workers has been fully represented or understood in their appeal for compensation according to Sri Lankan labour rights laws. A number of them have died in the meantime, one has committed suicide.
CASE DETAILS:
According to the information we have received the Monta Garments factory (in Ja-Ela) failed to pay the Rs3,051,168 compensation due 211 workers who lost their jobs when it closed down illegally in 1980, though it was ordered to do so by the Labour Tribunal in Colombo (case No.1/242-756/85). Despite further actions by the Deputy Commissioner of Labour at Ja-Ela (case No. 39440) the respondent has continuously failed to appear at the hearings. At its eleventh hearing in 2007 the case was transferred from the Magistrates Court of Gampaha to the one at Kanuwana (case No. JG 38852), where the judge issued three separate warrants in 2009 for the respondent’s arrest. Police repeatedly failed to produce him.
We are told that on 13 January 2010 the courts alarmingly pronounced that the ‘case be removed from the roll since the petitioner has not shown interest’. The petitioner is the former Deputy Commissioner of Labour from 1985 rather than the workers, many of whom have attended every hearing.
In a similar story, on 11 July 1997 the Jewel Arts Ltd factory (No. 79, 3rd Lane, Colombo) failed to pay Rs160,080,611.60 to its workers after its illegal closure, or reinstate the workers to their previous jobs as ordered by the Termination of Employment Unit of the Labour Department. We understand that the factory had been named in several other court cases at the time. Although the Labour Department filed a second case against the company in October 1999 in the Magistrates Court of Gampaha, the case has been postponed for 16 years.
The AHRC urges the Commission of Labour to intervene into this judicial matter and to fulfill its responsibility to the workers with thorough inquiries. In both incidents the workers have been made double victims: of unfair labour practices and the failure of the courts to try their case in a fair and timely fashion. Justice cannot be adequately delivered in a trial that spans decades.
The AHRC also appeals to the courts to consider the lengthy struggle and poor economic condition of the petitioners, along with the mental hardship the judicial delays have created. Many of them have attended every hearing, though a few have died and one worker in the Jewel Arts case has committed suicide. For the court to declare a lack of interest by the petitioner on a technicality is a clear and grave injustice, as is the continuing postponement of a case for 16 years.
The AHRC considers this case emblematic of the struggles that continue to be faced by civilians when they attempt to access the system of justice in Sri Lanka. As it has long urged, both greater financial support and considerable reforms must be launched if the judicial system is to start dispensing effective justice according to international standards.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below, calling for their intervention to ensure that the cases are speedily and justly concluded and that due compensation is paid.
The AHRC has written to the UN International Labour Organisation, asking for intervention in these cases.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
SRI LANKA: Courts fail to ensure due compensation to workers in cases delayed for decades
Name of victim: Workers of Monta Garments and Jewel Arts Limited
Name of alleged perpetrators: Monta Garments and Jewel Arts Limited
Date of incident: Ongoing since 1980 and 1994 respectively
I am writing to voice my deep concern about the failure of two magistrate courts to protect or uphold the labour rights of workers over the course of decades. Although compensation was awarded in both cases, the employers have failed to comply and the cases are ongoing. One has been continuously postponed for 16 years the other is due to be abandoned on a technicality after almost thirty years.
According to the information we have received the Monta Garments factory (on Minuwangoda Rd in Ja-Ela) failed to pay the Rs3,051,168 compensation due 211 workers who lost their jobs when it closed down illegally in 1980, though it was ordered to do so by the Labour Tribunal in Colombo (case No.1/242-756/85).Despite further actions by the Deputy Commissioner of Labour at Jaela (case No. 39440) the respondent has continuously failed to appear at the hearings. At its eleventh hearing in 2007 the case was transferred from the Magistrates Court of Gampaha to the one at Kanuwana (case No. JG 38852), where the judge issued three separate warrants in 2009 for the respondent’s arrest. However police repeatedly failed to produce him.
I am told that on 13 January 2010 the courts alarmingly pronounced that the ‘case be removed from the roll since the petitioner has not shown interest’. The petitioner is the former Deputy Commissioner of Labour from 1985 rather than the workers, many of whom have attended every hearing.
In a similar story, on 11 July 1997 the Jewel Arts Ltd factory (No. 79, 3rd Lane, Colombo) failed to pay Rs160,080,611.60 to its workers after its illegal closure, or reinstate the workers to their previous jobs as ordered by the Termination of Employment Unit of the Labour Department. I understand that the factory had been named in several other court cases at the time. Although the Labour Department filed a second case against the company in October 1999 in the Magistrates Court of Gampaha, the case has been postponed for 16 years.
I urge the Commission of Labour to intervene into this judicial matter and to fulfill its responsibility to the workers with thorough inquiries. In both incidents the workers have been made double victims: of unfair labour practices and the failure of the courts to try their case in a fair and timely fashion. Justice cannot be adequately delivered in a trial that spans decades.
I also appeal to the courts to consider the lengthy struggle and poor economic condition of the petitioners, along with the mental hardship the judicial delays have created. Many of them have attended every hearing, though a few have died and one worker in the Jewel Arts case has committed suicide.
For the court to declare a lack of interest by the petitioner on a technicality is a clear and grave injustice, as is the continuing postponement of a case for 16 years.
This case is emblematic of the struggles that continue to be faced by civilians when they attempt to access the system of justice in Sri Lanka. Both greater financial support and considerable reforms must clearly be launched if the judicial system is to start dispensing effective justice according to international standards.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
Mr. Mohan Peiris
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department,
Colombo 12,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net
Secretary,
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka,
No 108 Barnes Place,
Colombo 07
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
Email: sechrc@sltnet.lk
Chief Justice,
Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
Superior Courts Complex,
Colombo-12,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94-11-2437534
Commissioner General,
Labour Secretariat,
Narahenpita
Colombo 5,
SRI LANKA
Email: cgldol@sltnet.lk
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
