The Labour Disputes Act provides for collective bargaining. However, the requirement that a union represent at least 40% of workers in a given workplace appears to be quite restrictive. The Labour Disputes Act defines the collective agreement as a collective agreement on the conditions and conditions of employment of the labour force in each sector. The collective agreement (CBA) generally offers the employee better benefits than statutory benefits. If a KBA has less favourable provisions than those provided by law, it cannot be enforced. The KBA will come into effect on the day of its publication. It binds the parties, unions, employers and workers mentioned in the agreement. A CBA may be concluded for a specified or indeterminate period. An indeterminate KBA may be cancelled by a written notification of dismissal, in the prescribed form, sent to the Commissioner and any other party, union and employer. A KBA must be written and signed by the parties or their representatives.

If the terms of the collective agreement fail because the employer does not comply with the conditions, a conciliation is initiated by the industrial relations department to resolve the dispute through a transaction agreement. If this fails, both parties can use voluntary arbitration to resolve the dispute. When the union initiates trade union action, the forced conciliation is carried out by the labour court by the Labour Commissioner. During this trial, disputes are refereed by a single panel of arbitrators and the decision of the labour tribunal is binding on the parties. However, the High Court and the Court of Appeal are on the verge of legal recourse. Wage setting in Sri Lanka includes the collective bargaining process as an important method, particularly in the banking sector, in large commercial enterprises and in the plantation sector. The Ceylon Employers Association (EFC) represents its employers in these negotiations. Collective agreements between the parties are legally applicable after being placed under the authority of the Labour Commissioner and published in the government scoreboard. For the collective bargaining process, a trade union delegate is appointed with a 40% staff membership, who is then the main negotiator in agreement with the other unions in the sector. 1. Ceylan Workers Congress Add: 72, Anada Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 07TP: 94 011-2574528, 011-2574524E-mail: cwconline@sltnet.lk Source: 32, 48 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1950; No.

67 of the plant regulations; No. 02 of the trade union decree, 1935 A «worker» is defined as any person who has entered into or works in any capacity a contract with an employer, whether it is a contractual or written contract or a personal contract for the performance of work or work, and any person who, as a general rule, it is used in the context of such a contract, whether it is a service or apprenticeship contract or a contract for the performance of work or work, whether it is a service or apprenticeship contract or an apprenticeship contract or an employment or employment contract, and any person usually employed in the context of such a contract, whether that person is active or not.