Labour Minister Shibu Baby John said on Thursday that Thiruvananthapuram city would be freed of ‘Nokkukooli’, the unhealthy practice of demanding money for allowing others to do loading and unloading work.
Addressing a press conference here, the Minister said that such practices had brought a bad name to workers in Kerala though there was little industrial unrest in the State now. Often, those who had been found to be demanding ‘Nookukooli’ were not registered headload workers. The government was determined to change the image of Kerala labour which was highly skilled and educated.
Mr. John said that provisions would be made for payment of loading and unloading charges through banks. The money would be electronically transferred to the Fund, and registered workers could be engaged to do the work against the receipts. This system would eliminate disputes over charges.
The facility would be extended to other cities once the computer systems in those cities are upgraded. Meanwhile, people could call the 24-hour labour help line to register complaints. After the helpline was established a month ago, the call centre had received 202 complaints. Of them, 43 complaints were over loading and unloading and the labour officials had been able to intervene in all of them and settle the issues. In 14 cases, excess amount collected were forced to be returned by the workers.
He said that industrialists were hesitant to invest in Kerala not because of the labour but because of political agitations and violence. The Labour Department had recommended setting up of special courts to try cases involving destruction of property for consideration of the Cabinet.
