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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 24

TRADE unions of headload workers belonging to CITU, AITUC, UTUC and the BMS struck work throughout Kerala on Tuesday in protest against the introduction of a Bill in the State Assembly seeking to regulate loading and unloading operations.

Hundreds of workers belonging to the striking trade unions took out a procession to the State Assembly building to coincide with the introduction of the Bill by the Labour Minister, Mr Babu Divakaran.

Earlier, amid protest by the Opposition, the State Government had introduced the Bill seeking to prohibit extortionary, intimidatory or other unlawful practices connected with loading and unloading and transportation of goods and articles.

The opposition benches objected to the introduction of the Bill saying that some of the provisions of the Kerala Loading and Unloading (Prohibition of Extortionary, Intimidatory or other unlawful Practices) Bill were "unconstitutional'' as they sought to curb the fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution.

Dismissing the argument that there was no need for a fresh legislation as the Kerala Headload Workers Act of 1978 had necessary provisions to regulate the headload sector, the Law Minister, Mr K.M. Mani, intervened to clarify that the proposed Bill sought to bring the domestic sector also under the purview of the Act.

The existing Act covered only the non-domestic sector.

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