No nokkukooli in city from January 14

KOCHI:  As part of the unification of the loading and unloading charges, Kochi will be declared the second ‘nokkukooli-free’ city in the state on January 14. Labour Minister Shibu Baby John made the announcement after a meeting with trade unions, merchants associations and residents associations.The first city to be made nokkukooli-free was Thiruvananthapuram. In the next phase, Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kollam would be made nokkukuli-free, he said.As part of the initiative, the loading and unloading charges of building construction materials and furniture have been revised in view of the complaints that a section of workers were demanding exorbitant rates. As per the scheme, the fare for articles to be unloaded can be remitted in advance at the post offices and Akshaya centres. The fee for each article would be decided at a meeting to be held on January 9 and 10.The application containing the list of articles and its fares will be available at residents associations, Headload Workers Welfare Fund offices and on the website of the Labour Department. The workers can claim the amount remitted in the bank from Headload Workers Welfare Fund Board office or from the local office of the board. In case of any dispute the complaints could be solved through the Headload Workers Welfare Fund Board and District Labour Office.The applicant has to submit three copies of the application form along with payment. The original copy will be kept in the bank, the duplicate with the applicant and the third copy will be given to the workers who unload the articles.