KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has held that the headload workers cannot insist that they have a right to loading and unloading electrical goods such as television sets and refrigerators as these require more diligent handling.The court issued the order on a petition filed by A Balakrishnan, a businessman from Alappuzha, seeking police protection for employing his skilled workers for loading and unloading electrical goods on his business premises. According to him, if these expensive electrical and electronic home appliances are mishandled by headload workers who have not received any training in handling such appliances, the petitioner is likely to sustain insurmountable losses.
He further stated that the home appliances dealt with by the petitioner contains electronic circuit boards and complex circuitry and if these expensive equipment are mishandled or dropped by workers with no training, he will suffer losses.
The headload workers who have no special skills or not got any training to handle such appliances could not insist that they be engaged for such work. The court observed that refrigerators, smart television sets, food processors, microwave ovens and water purifiers are all complex electrical and electronic equipment with circuitry and breakable parts.
There is no doubt that these items are expensive and mishandling them could result in serious losses to the petitioner. Therefore, the headload workers’ unions cannot insist that they have a rightful claim to the loading and unloading of these appliances. The court directed the police to provide adequate protection to the petitioner and his establishment to enable him to carry on with the business.