Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1948
No: 9 Dated: Mar, 04 1948
THE DOCK WORKERS (REGULATION OF EMPLOYMENT) ACT, 1948
ACT NO. 9 OF 1948
An Act to provide for regulating the employment of dock workers.
WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for regulating the employment of dock workers;
It is hereby enacted as follows:—
1. Short title and extent.—(1) This Act may be called the Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1948.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, —
(a) “Board” means a Dock Labour Board established under section 5A;
(aa) “cargo” includes anything carried or to be carried in a ship or other vessel;
(b) “dock worker” means a person employed or to be employed in, or in the vicinity of, any port on work in connection with the loading, unloading, movement or storage of cargoes, or work in connection with the preparation of ships or other vessels for the receipt or discharge of cargoes or leaving port;
(c) “employer”, in relation to a dock worker, means the person by whom he is employed or to be employed as aforesaid;
(d) “Government” means, in relation to any major port, the Central Government and, in relation to any other port, the State Government;
(e) “scheme” means a scheme made under this Act.
3. Scheme for ensuring regular employment of workers.—(1) Provision may be made by a scheme for the registration of dock workers and employers with a view to ensuring greater regularity of employment and for regulating the employment of dock workers, whether registered or not, in a port.
(2) In particular, a scheme may provide—
(a) for the application of the scheme to such classes of dock workers and employers as may be specified therein;
(b) for defining the obligations of dock workers and employers subject to the fulfilment of which the scheme may apply to them and the circumstances in which the scheme shall cease to apply to any dock workers or employers;
(c) for regulating the recruitment and entry into the scheme of dock workers, and the registration of dock workers and employers, including the maintenance of registers, the removal either temporarily or permanently, of names from the registers and the imposition of fees for registration;
(d) for regulating the employment of dock workers, whether registered or not, and the terms and conditions of such employment, including rates of remuneration, hours of work and conditions as to holidays and pay in respect thereof;
(e) for securing that, in respect of periods during which employment, or full employment, is not available for dock workers to whom the scheme applies and who are available for work, such workers will, subject to the conditions of the scheme, receive a minimum pay;
(f) for prohibiting, restricting or otherwise controlling the employment of dock workers to whom the scheme does not apply and the employment of dock workers by employers to whom the scheme does not apply;
(ff) for creating such fund or funds as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the scheme and for the administration of such fund or funds;
(g) for the training of dock workers, in so far as satisfactory provision therefore does not exist apart from the scheme;
(gg) for the welfare of the officers and other staff of the Board; (i) for the manner in which, and the persons by whom, the cost of operating the scheme is to be defrayed;
(j) for constituting the authority to be responsible for the administration of the scheme;
(k) for such incidental and supplementary matters as may necessary or expedient for the purposes of the scheme
(3) A scheme may further provide that a contravention of any provision thereof shall be punishable with imprisonment for such term as may be specified but in no case exceeding three months in respect of a first contravention or six months in respect of any subsequent contravention, or with fine which may extend to such amount as may be specified but in no case exceeding five hundred rupees in respect of a first contravention or one thousand rupees in respect of any subsequent contravention, or with both imprisonment and fine as aforesaid.
4. Making, variation and revocation of schemes. —(1) The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to the condition of previous publication, make one or more schemes for a port or group of ports, and may in the like manner and subject to the like condition add to, amend, vary or revoke any scheme made by it.
(2) The provisions of section 23 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897), shall apply to the exercise of a power given by sub-section (1) as they apply to the exercise of a power given by a Central Act to make rules subject to the condition of previous publication.
(3) The Government may direct the port authority of any port to prepare, in accordance with such instructions as may from time to time be given to it, one or more draft schemes for the port, and the port authority shall comply with such direction.