Cochin Port shuts doors on unregistered workers

Cochin Port will not allow the labourers who are not registered with the Kerala Headload Workers Welfare Board to work at the port area from January 1, 2007.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting attended by P K Gurudasan, minister for labour, and Elamaram Karim, minister for industries, on Monday.

All labour bookings at the port area should be done through the board and unauthorised collection of charges would be checked by all means, said Gurudasan.

According to a press statement issued by the port trust, so far 695 workers and 169 employers have registered with the workers' welfare board and 2,347 workers have submitted applications for registration.

They would be issued registration cards soon so that only cardholders would be allowed to work at the port from January 1. The port has banned all illegal and unauthorised collection of money from November 6.

The decision was taken as there was widespread criticism against the unauthorised collection of huge amounts by a section of the workers with the help of some trade union leaders.

The minister said that the government had lost about Rs 10,000 crore during last 10-15 years through the illegal activity and was now committed to putting an end to the 'goonda raj' at the port.

The high-level meeting also resolved to allow full freedom to the exporters and importers to hire lorries and trailers of their choice for transporting goods. Earlier, a section of trailer owners and workers did not allow the entry of lorries and trailers from outside.

The illegal collection of money on the pretext of labour welfare measures and militancy among trailer workers created a negative image of the port, seriously affecting the cargo movement at the port.

The handling charges at Kochi was more than double the amount of nearby ports like Tuticorin and Mangalore. Port sources said that a major chunk of cargo had been diverted to other ports because of high labour charges.

The minister also said that police had been given strict instructions to stop the illegal collection and labour department would speed up the registration of workers.