Nokku Kooli Cease to Exist

Why in news?

Kerala state government has decided to cease the practice of paying Nokku Kooli (gawking charges) for doing nothing.

What is Nokku kooli?

• Nokku kooli is a type of wage meant for workers overseeing the work of fellow workers.
• This practice has been widespread among the head-load workers who are basically labourers involved in loading and unloading activities.
• A Registered head-load worker demands Nokku kooli for either doing the loading or unloading work himself or when he gets the job done though his own worker.
• Various laws were also enacted to ensure the rights of working to carry loads for loading and unloading were protected.

What was the reason behind Kerala’s recent decision?

• Nokku kooli became a notorious practice of demanding wages for just simply seeing the work as it was easy to appoint a worker to do the job.
• Head-load workers also started exhorting huge sums from construction sites where machines move heavy objects, on the grounds of denying their right to work.
• In recent years, the growth of infrastructure and other reality projects has allowed head-load workers to earn huge amounts as Nokku kooli.
• But all this is due to decline in the actual work for head-load workers as markets and packaging methods have changed.

What are the implications of this move?

• The factory owners or builders will be free from the pressures by the trade unions to pay Nokku kooli to the workers and also from disruption in construction work.
• But for the head-load workers, this will affect them badly as they are dependent on Nokku kooli for their livelihood.
• They will suffer as they don’t have any alternate ways to earn their livelihood.

Source: The Indian Express