|
DOCK WORKERS
(SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE) REGULATIONS, 1990
G.S.R 80 (E), dated
16th February, 1990.-Whereas the draft of the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and
Welfare) Regulations, 1987, was published as required by sub-section (1) of
Sec. 22 of the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 (54 of
1986), in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Sec. 3 (i) dated the
27th November, 1987, under the notification of the Government of India In the
Ministry of Labour No. G.S.R. 937 (E), dated the 27th November, 1987,
Inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected
thereby, before the expiry of a period of forty-five days from the date of
publication of the said notification in the Official Gazette;
And whereas the said
Gazette was made available to the public on the
6th January, 1988;
And whereas the
objections and suggestions received from the public on the said draft have
been considered by the Central Government;
Now, therefore, in
exercise of the powers conferred by Sec. 21 of the said Act the Central
Government hereby makes the following regulations, namely:
PART I
General
1.
Short title, application and commencement.- (1) These regulations may be called the Dock
Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations, 1990.
(2) They shall apply
to all major ports in India as defined in the Major Ports
Act, 1963 (38 of 1963).
(3) They shall come
into force after the expiry of 30 days of their publication in the Official
Gazette.
2.
Definitions.-In
these regulations unless the context otherwise requires.-
a)
"Act" means the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986
(54 of 1986);
(b)
"access" includes egress;
(c) "authorised
person" means a person authorised by the employer, the master of the
ship or a responsible person to undertake a specific task or tasks and
possessing necessary technical knowledge and experience for undertaking the
task or tasks;
(d) "competent
person" means.-
(i) a person
belonging to a testing establishment in India who is approved by the Chief
Inspector for the purpose of testing, examination or annealing and
certification of lifting appliances, loose gears or wire ropes;
(ii) any other person
who is recognised under the relevant regulations in force in other countries
as competent for issuing certificates for any of the purposes mentioned in
sub-clause (1) for the implementation of the Protection against Accidents
(Dockers) Convention (Revised), 1932 (No. 32) and the Convention concerning
Occupational Safety and Health in Dock Work (No. 152), 1979, adopted by
International Labour Conference;
(e)
"container" means an article of transport equipment of a permanent
character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use and
as specified under national or international standards;
(f) "container
terminal" means the area where the operations of receiving, storage,
dispatch and interchange of containers, between transport made is carried out
primarily with the help of lifting appliances and transport equipment, and
includes associated road vehicles, waiting places, control inter-change grid,
stacking areas and associated road vehicle, departure, but shall not include.-
(i) terminals which
handle significant volumes of containerized cargo and break-bulk cargo
together using the same operational areas;
(ii) all railway
terminals and all in-land depots;
(iii) the stuffing
and stripping of the contents of containers; and
(iv) ship-board and
ship-side operations LQ/LO and RO/RO vessels;
(g)
"conveyer" means a mechanical device used In dock work for the
transport of single packages or solid bulk cargo from one point to another
point;
(h) "dangerous
goods" means any cargo which due to its explosiveness, inflammability,
radioactivity, toxic or corrosive properties, or other similar
characteristics, may cause injury, adversely affect the human system, loss of
life or property while handling, transporting, shipping or storing and which
is classified as such by any international or national standards;
(i) "dock"
means any dock, wharf, quay or shore and shall include any warehouse or store
place belonging to owners, trustees or conservators of, and situated in or in
the vicinity of the dock, wharf, quay or shore and any railway line or siding
on or used in connection with the dock, wharf quay or shore but not forming
part of Indian railways;
(j) "form"
means a form appended to these regulations;
(k) "hatch"
means on opening in a dock used for purposes of dock work or for trimming or
for ventilation or for cleaning;
(l)
"hatchway" means the whole space within the square of the hatches
from the top dock to the bottom of the bold;
(m)
"Inspector" means a person appointed by the Central Government
under Sec. 3 of the Act and includes the Chief Inspector;
(n)"lifting
appliance" means all stationary or mobile cargo handling appliances
including their permanent attachments, such as cranes, derricks shore based
power operated ramps used on shore or on board ship for suspending, raising
or lowering, cargo or moving them from one position to another while
suspended or supported, in connection with the dock work and includes lifting
machinery;
(o) "loose
gear" means hook, shackle, swivel, chain, sling, lifting beam, container
speader, tray and any other such gear, by means of which the load can be
attached to a lifting appliance and includes lifting device;
(p) "port"
means a port as defined under the Indian Ports Act, 1908 (15 of 1908);
(q) "port
authority" means the person having the general management and control of
dock:
Provided that if any
other person has, by exclusive right to occupation of any part of the dock
acquired the general management and control of such part, he shall be deemed
to be the "port Authority" in respect of that part;
(r)
"premises" means any dock, wharf, quay, warehouse, store place or
landing place where the dock work is carried on;
(s)
"prescribed" means prescribed by the Central Government;
(t) "pulley
block" means pulley block, gin and similar gear, other than a crane
block specially constructed for use with a crane to which it is permanently
attached;
(u) "responsible
person" means a person appointed by the employer, the master of the
ship, the owner of the gear or port authorities, as the case may be, to be
responsible for the performance of a specific duty or duties and who has
sufficient knowledge and experience and the requisite authority for the
proper performance of the duty or duties;
(v) "safe
working load" in relation to an article of loose gear or lifting
appliance means the load which is the maximum load that may be imposed with
safety in the normal working conditions and as assessed and certified by the
competent person;
(w)
"schedule" means a schedule appended to these regulations;
(x) "ship"
means any kind of ship, vessel barge, lighter or hover-craft excluding ships
of war and country craft;
(y) "testing
establishment" means an establishment with testing and examination
facilities, as approved by the Chief Inspector for carrying out testing,
examination, annealing or certification, etc. of lifting appliance or loose
gear or wire rope as required under the regulations;
(z) "transport
equipment" means all powered and hand truck, for lift truck, tractor,
trailer, locomotive, prime mover and any other such equipment used in dock
work;
(zz) words and
expressions not defined in these regulations but defined or used in the Act
shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Act
3.
Powers of Inspectors.-(a) An Inspector may at any port for which he is appointed.-
(i) enter, with such
assistance, (if any), as he thinks fit, any ship, dock, warehouse or other
premises, where any dock work, is being carried on, or where he has reason to
believe that any dock work is being carried on;
(ii) make examination
of the ship, dock, lifting appliance, loose gear, lifting device, staging,
transport equipment, warehouse or other premises, used or to be used, for any
dock work;
(iii) require the
production of any testing muster roll or other document relating to the
employment of dock workers and examine such document;
(iv) take on the spot
or otherwise such evidence of any person which he may deem necessary:
Provided that no
person shall be compelled under sub-regulation 3 (a) (iv) to answer any
question or, give any evidence tending to incriminate himself;
(v) take copies of
registers, records or other documents or portions thereof as he may consider
relevant in respect of any offence which he has reason to believe has been
committed or for the purpose of any inquiry;
(vi) take photograph,
sketch, sample, weight measure or record as he may consider necessary for the
purpose of any examination or inquiry;
(vii) hold an inquiry
into the cause of any accident or dangerous occurrence which he has reason to
believe was the result of the collapse or failure of any lifting appliance
loose gear, transport equipment, staging non-compliance with any of the
provisions of the Act or the regulations;
(viii) issue
show-cause notice relating to the safety, health and welfare provisions
arising under the Act or the regulations;
(ix) prosecute,
conduct or defend before any court any complaint or other proceedings,
arising under the Act or the regulations;
(x) direct the port
authority, dock labour board and other employers of dock workers for getting
the dock workers medically examined if considered necessary.
(b) A person having
general management and control of the premises or the owner, master,
officer-in-charge or agents of the ship, as the case may be, shall provide
such means as may be required by the Inspector for entry, inspection,
examination, inquiry, otherwise for the exercise of his powers under Act and
the regulations in relation to that ship or premises which shall also include
the provision of launch or other means of transport.
4.
Notice of Inspection.-(1) An inspector may notify any defects or deficiencies which may
come to his notice during his inspection and examination which he wishes to
point out together with any orders passed by him under the Act or the
regulations in Form IX to-
(i) the owner,
master, officer in charge or agents of the ship; or
(ii) the port
authority; or
(iii) the owner of
lifting appliances, loose gears, lifting devices and transport equipment; or
(iv) the employer of
dock workers.
(2) When an Inspector
serves notice, under sub-regulation (1) above, in relation to any dock,
lifting appliance, loose gear, lifting device, transport equipment, ladder or
staging, he may, in the notice prohibit the dock work where conditions are
dangerous to life, safety or health of dock workers and the use of the same
in connection with the dock work and such dock, lifting appliances, loose
gears, lifting devices transport equipment, ladders or stagings shall not be
used until the defect or defects specified in the notice have been remedied
and the Inspector has withdrawn the prohibitory order.
5.
Appeal.-Any
person aggrieved by an order of the Chief Inspector passed under Sec. 5 of
the Act may, within 15 days from the date on which the order is communicated
to him prefer an appeal to the Secretary in Government of India, Ministry of
Labour, New Delhi and the provisions of Sec. 8 of the Act shall apply
accordingly.
6.
Penalties.-Only
save as is otherwise expressly provided in these regulations, whoever being a
person responsible to comply with any of the regulations commits a breach of
such regulations shall be guilty of an offence and punishable with
imprisonment; for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which
may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both, and, if the breach is
continued after conviction, with a further fine which may extend to one
hundred rupees for each day on which the breach is so continued.
_____________________________________________________________
1.
Publish in Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Pt. II, Sec. 3 (i), No. 61, dated
16th February, 1990
|
