Abstract:
The COVID19 pandemic has created an unimagined crisis that caused thousands of
employees worldwide to lose their jobs, have their wages deducted, and deal with and
fight against the blatant violations of labor rights benefits guaranteed to them by the
existing laws. The Sri Lankan labour force saw no exception to this situation. In this
context, it is essential to ascertain the efficacy of the existing legal framework in Sri
Lanka in protecting the interests of the employees against adverse labour practices
adopted by the employers in their favour, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore,
this research seeks to address whether Sri Lankan labour laws were sufficient to
protect the interests of the employees during the pandemic situation. The research is
carried out using three methodological approaches: the black letter approach of
research empirical research methodology and the international and comparative
research methodology. The findings of the research reveal the inadequacy and silence
of the labour laws in Sri Lanka in addressing and dealing with the labour issues that
have arisen due to COVID19 pandemic. The research lays down suggestions to
reform the law in Sri Lanka to ensure the maximum protection of the employee rights
and benefits against the abuses stemming from the employers' unequal bargaining
power during the unfavourable times of global health emergency.
