An appellate authority constituted under Section 21 of the Kerala Head Load Workers Act - 1978 to settle a labour issues at the Government Cyberpark has upheld an order by the District Labour Officer stating that the right to work will be ‘available’ to all those who have registered under Rule 26 (A) of the Kerala Head Load Workers Rules 1981.
The authority was constituted after some native workers, who were prevented from unloading goods at the Cyberpark site by the contractor concerned, challenged the move in the Labour Court. Cheriyan Verky Construction Company, the respondent in the case, had moved a writ petition in the High Court claiming their right to employ labourers of their choice at the project site.
In the final order issued on Thursday, the authority made it clear that it was finding no reasons to interfere with the order of the District Labour Officer and dismissed all the appeals on the issue. The authority felt that the issue of claim to work in the Cyberpark by the local workers, the workers of the management, and the contractor should be dealt with in accordance with legal provisions applicable.
As per the order, the native head-load workers would be legally entitled to unload goods — other than technical items such as computers and electronic equipment — up to three tonnes. Commodities weighing above three tonnes would be handled by the company labourers concerned as per the standing order in this regard by the District Labour Officer.
P.M. Karthikeyan, a trade union leader who was in the forefront of the agitation on the issue, said the native head-load workers’ right to work at the project site had been restored through the authority’s ruling. “We were on the path of protest and legal battle as the construction company denied the entry of native head-load workers to the Cyberpark site and stopped using their service after employing migrant workers,” he said.
