The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Gold Coin Feed Mills (Lanka) Ltd to quash the decision taken by the Commissioner General of Labour refusing the request of the company to terminate the services of its Supplies Manager T.N. Premasiri.

This request was made by the company on November 2, 2000 under the Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) Act. The appeal was heard before Justices S. Sriskandarajah and Upali Abeyratne. Counsels Suren Peiris and Sherom Wijesinghe appeared for the respondent Mr T.N. Premasiri while Deputy Solicitor General M.N.B Fernando appeared for the Commissioner General of Labour and Deputy Commissioner of Labour. Counsels R.K. Suresh Chandra and J. Jayasekera appeared for the petitioner.

The company said that it has decided to terminate the services of the Supplies Manager under its restructuring process by suppressing the post due to financial restraints faced by the management owing to inflation and increasing of bank rates. In the evidence it has been revealed that the company was running at a profit amounting to Rs. 66.6 million rupees in 1998 and Rs. 123.1 million in 1999.

The Court was of the view that the Commissioner General of Labour has come to a conclusion that the suppression of the post of Supplies Manager will not have a bearing on the company's financial restraints and in fact it was not going under a financial crisis. Therefore the Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal made by the company for a writ of certiorari.