H O JOHN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHEN this case has come up for hearing on December 20, 1993, neither the counsel nor the petitioner was present. Therefore, Original Petition was dismissed for default. C. M. P. No. 874/94 is filed by the petitioner praying for restoration of the Original Petition back to files and to set aside the order of dismissal for default. Copy of the said petition was served on the respondents. I heard the counsel for the petitioner and the respondents. The petition is not opposed. Hence the same is allowed.

(2.) THE petitioner in this Original Petition is the Honorary Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Trichur, a registered body to improve and foster the industry and commerce in the Trichur Municipality. The Chamber of Commerce has a membership of many people who are businessmen, traders and industrialists in Trichur. Some of the members of the Chamber of Commerce are engaged in wholesale and retail trade of various commodities and also manufacturing and sale of various commercial industrial products. In their business activities, the loading and unloading of various items of goods also becomes necessary and forms part of their business. For carrying out the said business, they require the help of headload workers. It is the case of the petitioner association that they were having regular headload workers attached to their business. But with the introduction of Kerala Headload Workers Act and the Scheme framed thereunder, according to the petitioner, at the instance of the convenor of the local area committee they have retrenched the service of permanent head-load workers attached to their business in order to enable those workers to register their names under the Head-Load Workers Act and the Scheme framed thereunder. Thus the members of the association had agreed to take into consideration the larger interest of the headload workers who were attached to their business activities for a long number of years.

(3.) THE Headload Workers Act, 1978 (Act 20 of 1978) was enacted by the State Legislature with the object to regulate the employment of headload workers in the State of Kerala and to make provisions for their welfare, for the settlement of disputes in respect of their employment or non-employment and matters connected therewith. Under Section 14 of the said Act, the State Government as per a notification published in the gazette established the Kerala Head-load Workers Welfare Board with Chairman and members. Section 18 of the Act gives power to the Government to appoint a committee for such area by way of a notification and with such name as may be specified in the said notification for the purpose of exercising the powers and performing the functions of the committee under the Act and the scheme in relation to that area. The committee so constituted shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract and may by that time, sue and be sued. The committee shall consist all such number of members not exceeding 15 nominated by the Government. The functions and duties of the committee are specifically stated in Sub-clause 8 of Section 18 of the Act. Government also appointed officers for conciliation of the disputes that may arise in connection with the employment or non- employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of work of any Headload worker exists or is apprehended in respect of a particular area and prescribe the area of its jurisdiction.