B.N.BANERJEE, J. - (1.) DOCK labour is regulated by an Act known as the Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment; Act, 1948 (IX of 1948). Under Section 4 of the Act, The Central Government may, by notification in the official gazette and subject to the condition of previous publication, make one or more scheme for port or group of ports and may, in like manner and subject to the like condition, add to, amend, vary or revoke any scheme made by it.
(2.) UNDER powers conferred by Section 4 quoted above, there was a scheme made for the port of Calcutta, in the year 1951, which was known as the Calcutta Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Scheme, 1951. Clauses 4 and 10 of the scheme read as follows: 4. Calcutta Dock Labour Board -Establishment of, -(1) The Central Government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute a board to be called the 'Calcutta Dock Labour Board' which shall, subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, be responsible for the administration of the scheme. (2) The board shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall by the said name sue and besued. 10. Maintenance of registers, etc. -(1) Employers' register. -(a) There shall be a register of employers. (b) In so far as the application of the scheme to stevedore labour is concerned, every stevedore, who is working as a stevedore in the port of Calcutta on the date of constitution of the board, shall be entitled to be registered under the scheme; but no such person shall be so entitled unless he applies for registration on or before the date fixed by the board for this purpose; Provided that no such person shall be entitled to registration unless be satisfies the board that he has at least such minimum number of monthly paid workers in his permanent employment and such minimum gear required to clear a ship of general cargo, as may be considered to be adequate in the opinion of the board exercising its discretion in the particular case, ' or applying standards, if any, prescribed by it in writing: Provided further that the board may, Instead of refusing registration under the preceding proviso, grant such time as it considers reasonable to enable the person concerned to fulfil the adequate or prescribed requirements and grant him temporary registration during the period so allowed. (c) Persons other than those registered under Sub -clause (b) shall not be registered as stevedores, (i) unless the board considers it expedient and necessary to do so; (ii) except subject to such conditions as the board may in consultation with the port authority prescribe. (d) A registration fee of Rs. 500 shall be payable to the board by every stevedore. That scheme was substituted by another scheme, in the year 1956, which is known as the CalcuttaDock Workers (Registration of Employment) Scheme, 1956. Under the aforesaid scheme, a 'dock employer' is defined as: Section 3(g) -dock employer means the person by whom a dock worker is employed or is to be employed and includes a group of dock employers formed under Section 15(1)(e).
(3.) CLAUSE 4 of the scheme reconstituted the Calcutta Dock Labour Board and made the board responsible for the administration of the scheme. Clause 7 defines the functions of the board of which I need concern myself with the previsions of Clause 7(1)(d), which reads as follows: Clause 7(1) -The board may take such measures as it may consider desirable for furthering the objectives of the scheme set out in Clause (2), including measures for.... (d) Keeping, adjusting and maintaining the employers' register entering or re -entering therein the name of any dock employer and where circumstances be require, removing from the register the name of any registered employer either at his own request or in accordance with the provisions of the scheme. ;