 the' dock workers (safety, health and welfare) bill, 1985 \ f arrangement of clauses clauslis1 short title extent, commencement and application 2 definitions 3 inspectors 4 powers of impedors 5 power of insuector where employment of dock workers are dangerous 6 facilities to bl:! afforded to an inspector 7 restrictions on disclosure of information a appeal 9 advisory committee 10 p(\wer of appropriate government to direct inquiry into cases of &ccidents or diseases 11 objigation of dock workers 12 po,,,'er to €xempt 13 protection of action taken in g~od faith 14 pe1'18jties j~ determination of the persons responsible for the oift'nce in certain cases 16 power of court to make orders 17 provision relating to jurisdiction 18 provision rer{arding flne 1& protection to persons acting under this act 20  power to make rules 21 power to make regulations 22 general provision relating to rules· and regulations 23 amendment of act 9 of 1~ 24l\epeal ~savings  a billto p"ovide for tile safety, h",zth 4114 welfare oj dqck wp:rkerb and for matte7'b connected therewith 1 (1) tbit; act maybe called the dock wqrk~1'$ ($4feiy, health and short welfare) act, 1985 title, ,i (2) it extends to the whole of india extent 5 (3) it _a1j~iiim faiiae on auch,dateas"'· cani ,go,,dmeilt may, by notification in the oftlcial gazette, appoint commencement and app!-cation (4) it shall noi apply to any ship of war of any nationality 2 in this -act, wuess the codiext otberw~e requires,-10 (a) "appropriate government" means, in relation to ~ wajor port, the central government, and, in relation to any other port, the st:ak! qov9rlment; (b) "cargo" includes ~ytbing carried or to be ~rr1ed in ahip or other ve!sel;  15 (c) "chief inspectot" means the chief ~tor of dac:k stety, appointed 'under 'sub-section (1) of section 3;  (d) "dock work" me~ any work in or 94thin ,the vj,;tnity of 'an)' port tn 'eottnection with, or requi,r:e4 1or, or~~ to, ,the loading, unloading, movement or storage of carlow into or from ship or ether vessel, port, dock, stdrage place or landing place, and includes-(i) work in connection with the preparation of ships or other vessels for receipt or discharge of cargoes or leaving port; ~d 5 (ii) chipping, painting or cleaning of any hold, tank, structure or lifting machinery or any other storag~ area in board the ship or in the docks; (e) "dock worker" means a person employed or to be employed directly or by or through any agency (including a contractor) with ]0 or without knowledge of the principal employer, whether for remuneration or not, on dock work; <f) "employer", in relation to a dock worker, means the person by whom he is employed or is to be employed on dock work, whether for l't"muneration or not; 15 (g) "principal employer", in relation to a dock worker employed or  to be employed by or throush any agency (including a contractor), means the person in connection with whose work he is employed or is to be employed by such agency; (h) "regulation" means a regulation made under this act 20 inapec!-tort 3 (1) the appropriate govel'llment may, by douaeatlod in the oltelal gazette, appol!tt slieh person as it thinks ft~ to be"'e chief idspeetor of dock safety and slieh persons as it' thinks at to be inspectors subonjldate to the chief imipeetor for the purposes of this aet at 8iicb ports as may be speeifted in the notiacation 25 (2) the chief inspector shad also exercise the powers of an idspeetor,  4s of 1860 (3) the chief inspector and all inspeetors shall be deemed to be pubue l81'vant;l within the  eaalar of the indian penal code 4 an inspector may, at any port for which he is appointed,-30 power ofjdapec-\01'1 (a) 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; (b) make examination of the ship, dock, lifting machinery, 35 cargo gear, stagings, transport equipment, warehouses or other premises; used or to be used, for any dock work; (c) require the production of any register, muster roll or other document relating to the  employment of dock workers and examine such document; 40 (d)' take on the spot or otherwise such eviden~e of any person which he 'may' deemneceuary: ~rovidefl  that· ~no penon: shall be compelled under this section to answer any question or live ,ny evidence tending to \jlcriminate himself; (e) 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 pul'poiiie of any inquiry; <1) take' photograph, sketch, sample, measu~e or record as he may consider necessary for the purpose of any examination or 10 tnquiry; (9) hold a, inquiry \nto the causes of any accident which he has reason to believe was the result of the collapse or failure of lifting machinery, transport equipment, staging or nort-compliance with any of the provisions of this act or the regulations;  (h) issue show cause notice relating to the safety, heulth and welfare provisions arising under this act or the regulations; (i) prosecute, conduct or defend before any court any complaint or other proceedings arising under this act or the regulations; 20 (j) exercise such other powers as may be conferred upon him by the regulations 5 (1) if it appears to an inspector that any place at which any dock work is being carried on is in such a condition that it is dangerous to life, safety or health of dock workers, he may, in writing, serve on the owner or on the person in charge of such place an order prohibiting 25 any dock work in such place until measures have been taken to remove t~e cause of the danger to his satisfaction power , olin-pector where employ-i mentof dock worker are dan- (2) an inspector serving an order under sub-section (l) shall gerous endorse a copy to the chief inspector who may modify 'or cancel the order without waiting ~or an appeal 30 • the owner or the person in charge of the place at which any dock work is being crrried on, shall afford the chief inspector or the inspector all reasonable facilities for making any entry, inspection survey, measurement, examination or inquiry under this act or the regulations facilities to be afforded to an inspec tor ,' reetrlctionlon discloaureof informafio:1 'i (1) all copies of, and extracts from, registers or other records in 35 relation to any dock work and all other information required by the chief inspector or an inspector or by anyone assisting him, in the course of the inspection or investigation carried out for the purposes of this act or the regulations shall be regarded as confidential and shall not be disclosed to rny person or authority unless such disclosure is for the 40 purpose of any action or proceeding under this act or the regulations or under any other law or unless the chief inspector or the inspector considers such disclosure necessary to ensure the health, ij8fety or welfare of any dock worker (2) 'the chief inspector or the inspector shall not disclose the source 45 of any complaint bringing to his notice a defect or breach of any legal pro1ilifml 8ftd if, vittt or idapectlcm is to,be madle mcoaaeouon with such a eomplalnt, hehall give no intimation to the employer that the visit is made in conseque~ce of receipt of such a complaint: provided that the restrictions imposed under this sub-sect1on shall not j)ply to any case where the complainant himself bas exj)l'eiitied his 5 wuuhgness to have the aource of complaint disclosed ' (3) if the chief inspector or an inspector or any other person referred to insub-sectiort (1) discloses, contrary to the provisions of this s4::tion any information as aforesaid, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with ,both 10 appell 8 any person aggrieved by an order under section 5 may, within 1\fteen days from the ~te on which the order is communicated to' him, prefer an appeal to the chief inspector or where such oider is by the chief inspector, to such authority as maybe specified by the reguiations and the chief l'ns~tor or such authority 8hall, 'after giving the 'appellant is an opportunity of being heard, dispose of the appeal as expeditiously as possible: provided that the chi~f inspecto;r or such authority may entertain the appeal after the expiry of the said period of fifteen days if he 'is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufrcient cause from filing 20 the appeal in time: ~ pttwidec:i 'fal1her ~ 'an der under' 'seetiob ,5 sbail be complted with, j)etfding the decision of the chief il'lspeetor or such authority advilory committee • t  (1) theappmpriate govenunent may constitute an advisory committee to advise upon such matters arisidg out of the administration !! of this act and the regulations as that government may refer to it for 5 advice (t) the n1embers of the advisory committee shall be appointed by the appropriate gov~rnment and shall' be of such number and chosen in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made under this act: 5° provided that the advisory committee shall include an equal number of members representing-(i') the appropriate government, (ii) the dock workers, and (iii) the employers of dock workers and shipping companies 35 (:j) the chairman of the advisory committee shall be one of the members ap~ to t~pl'e$ent the appropriate government, nominkted 'in ifbis behalf by that ~vemment (4) the appropriate governmenthall publish in the official gazette the names of all members of ,the advi~ory committee (5)tbe term of office of the members of the advisory committee and the marmer of filling vacancies among, and the procedure to be followed in the discharge df their functions by, the members shall be such as may be prescribed ,by rules made under this act 1 (i) the appropriate glwarninent may, if it conaiders it expedient to do so, appoint a competent person to inquire into the causes of any accident occurring in connection with any dock work or into any ca8ell whet"e a dtsease specified by regulations as a difjease connected with dock 5 wo,k has been or is suspected to have been contracted by dock workers' ::nd lhay also appoint ctne or more persons possessing' legal or ,peelal lmowjedge to act &:0;; assessors in such inquiry (2) the person appointed to hold an inquiry under this, section shall have an the powers of a civil court under the code of civil procedure, power of appropriate governmentto direct inquiry illto caseaol accident, or diaeuet 5011808  011880 10 1908 for the purposes of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of documents and material objects and may also, so far as may be necessary for the purposes of the inquiry, exercise any ot the powers of an inspector under this ac't; and 'every person required by the person making the inquiry to furnish any information 15 shall be deemed to be legally bound so to do within the meaning ot section 176 of the indian pena1 code '(3) the person holding the inquiry under this :tection shall malee a report to the appropriate government stating the causes of the accident or, as the case may be, disease and any attendant circumstances and 20 adding any observations which he or any of the assessors may think fit to make (4) the procedure to be followed at inquiries under this section shall be such as the appropriate government may prescribe by rules under section 20 25 11 '(1) no dock worker shall-| obliga    | •    ||-----------|-------|| tim       |       || of        |       || dock      |       || worker    |     |'cal wufully interfere with, or misuse, any appliance, convenience or other thing provided in connection with any dock work for the purpose of securing the health, safety and welfare of- dock w'orkers; 30 (b) wilful1y and without reasonable cause do anything likely t(\ endanger himself or others: and (e)  wilfully neglect to make use of ~ny appliance, convenience or other thing provided in connection with any dock work for the purpose of securing the health safety and welfare of dock w(iii)rers 35 (2) if any dock worker contravenes any- of ihe provisions of subsection '(1), he shall be dunishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which' may extend to one hundred rupees, or with both, power to exempt 12 theapproprlate government may, by notiftcation in the offtcial 40 gazeue, exempt from all or any of the provisions of this act and of the regulations, on such conditions, if any, as it thinks fit-,   (4) any"port or place doek, wharf quay or similar premises, if tbatgovernmentissatiaftedthat dock work is only occaatenally carried on or' the traffic is small 'and' confined to small h4ls and 45 ' fishing vessels at such port, 'dock, wharf, quay or stmdar premilles; or '(b)  any sj)eclfted,hip or clas~ of ahills if that gol1el'l1~ent is spttsfted 'havfn,~ !'f!~arct": to the features of such ship or ships the' uature, quantum and periodicity of dock work carried ·thereon and all other' relevant factors, that it is necessary so to do: provided that the appropriate government 'lhall not grant exemption under this section unless it is satisfied that such exemption will not advel'llely affect the health, safety and welfare of dock workers 5 13 no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which 'is in good faith done or intended to be done under this aet  | proteci-   ||------------|| tion       || of         || action     || laken      || in         || ifood      || faith     |14 (1) whoever,-pellaltiplo (a) wilfully obstructs an i~pector in exercise of any power 10 conferred by or under this act or fails to produce on demand by an inspector any register or other documents kept in pursuance of the regulations or otherwise in connection with any dock work or conceals or prevents or attempts to prevent any person from appearing before, or being examined by, an i~spector; or j5 (b) unless duly authorised or in case of necessity, removes any fencing, gangway, gear, ladder, life-saving means or appliance light, mark, stage or other thing required to be provided by, or under, the regulations; or advil committee (c)· having in case of necessity removed any such fencing, gang- je) way, gear, ladder, life-saving means or appliance, light, mark, stage or other thing, omits to restore it at the end of the period for which its removal was necessary, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six· months, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, 25 or with bath (2) if any prm'lon, being a person whose duty is to comply with any of the regulations, contravenes such regulations' and such contravention results-(a) in any fatal accident to a dock worker, or 30 (b) an accident which incapacitates a dockworker from earning his fuli wages for more than a fortnight, such -person ~hall he punishable :with lmpris~)dment ·for a t,rm which may extend· to ·six months or with· ft~ which sbal notbe les  than two thousand rupees in a ease f~ling under j:lause (a) a~d, five hund~d'35 rupees in a case falling under clause (bo) but which may extend, in either ca8e,'to five thousand rupees; or with both, and the court may ordertbewhole or part of the fine to be paid to the dependent of 'the deceased· dock worker or; as the case may be, to the injured dock worker or, as : the case may be; to the injured dock worker, 4» expumalion-the proyl~on of ,thi~ sub-mctionsqiu be in addition to ally provisions which may be made under sub-aeetion (4) of etional (3) subject to the provisions of section 11, if any dock worker contravenes any provision of this act or the re ~ulations imposing any duty or liability on dock workers, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with flne which may 5 extend to two hundred rupees, or with both (4) if any person who has been convicted, for an oft'ence punishable under any of the provisions of this act or the regulations is again convicted for an offence committed within two years of the previous conviction and involving a con~ravention of the same provision, be shall 10 be-punishable for each subsequent conviction with double the imprlson~ ment to which he would have ,been liable for the first contravention of such provision 15_ if the person committing an offence made punishable by this act or the regulations or any abetment thereof is a firm or other asso-15 ciation of individuals or a company or a local authority, all or any of the partners or members or directors thereof as well as the firm, as'soc~ation of individuals, company or local authority shah be deemed to be guilty of the offence or abetment and shan be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: deterrnination of the persons respol18ible for the of!encein certain cases 20 provided that where a firm, association or company has given notices in writing -to the chief inspector and the inspector of the port where any dock work is being carried that it haos nominated,-'(a) in the case of a firm, any of its partirers; (b) in the case of an association, any of its members; 25 (c) in the case of a company any of its directors, who is resident, in each caose in any place to which this act extends and who is in each case either in fact in charge of the management of, or holds the largest number of shares in, such firm, association or company, to assume the responsibility of the peni-orl in charge of any dock work 30 tor the purposes of this act, suc'h partner member or director, as the case may be shall so long as he continues to so reside and be in char~ or hold the largest number of shares ar aforesaid, be deemed to be 'the person in charl'!'e of such dock work for the purpoges of this act unless a notice in writin~ cancelling his nomination or stating that he has ceased 35 to be a partner, member ol' director as the case may be, is received by the chief inspector power of court to make ordent 16 (1) wpere a person i~ convicted of an offence punishable under this act, the court- may, in addition to awarding him anv punishment, by  order in writing, require him within a period specified in the order 40 (which ma:v be extended bv' the court from time to time on application made in this behalf) to take such me~sul'es as may be so specified for remedying the matters in respect of which offence was committed (2-) where an order is made under sub-section (1), the person 'shall not be liable under this act in respect of the continuance of the ofl'ence 45 during the period, or extended period, if any, but if on the expirv of such period or extended peri~ the order of the court has not been fully , complied with, the person shall be deemed· to have committed a further ofrence and shall be punish"ble with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or' with fine which may extend to· one hundred rupees for every day after such expiry on which the order has not been complied with, or with both 17 (1) no court inferior to that of a metropolitan maptrate or 8 magistrate of the first class shall try any offence under this act or the 5  regulations provision relating to jurisdiction , (2) no prosecution for any offence under this act or the regulation shall be instituted except -by or with· the previous s~ction of an inspector (3) notwithstanding anythlng cootained in the code of 'crimiaaj procedure, 1973, no court shall take cognizance of an offence under this 10 2 of 1974-act or the regulation's unless complaint thereof has been made-(0) in the case of an offence punishable with fine,-(i) within six months trom the date of the offence; or (ii) where the commission of the offence was not known to the inspector, within six months from the first day on which 15  the oft'ence comes to the knowledge of the inspector; or' (iii) where it is not known by whom the offence was com  mitted, the first day on which the identity of the offender is known to the inspector; or (b) in the ca'se of an offence punishable with imprisonment,-20 (i) within one year from the date of the offence; 'or (ii) where the coinmission of the offence was not known to the inspector, within one year from the first day on which the offence comes to the knowledge of tlte inspector; or (iii) where it is not known by whom the offeree was cqm· 25 mitted, the first day on which the identity of the offender is known to the ins~tor expl4n4tion-for the 'purposes of this section in the case of a conn: nuing offence a fresh period of limitation 'shan 'begin to run at every moment of the time during which the ofl'ence continues 3? 2 of 1974 provision regarding fine 18 notwithstanding anything contained in section 2q of the code of criminal procedure, 1973, it shall be lawful for a metropolitan magistrate or a magistrate of the first class to pass a sentence of fine exceeding five thousand rupees authorised by this act or the regulations on any person convicted of any offence thereunder 35 19 no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie ag-unst any per-son for anythill'g' which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this act or the rules or regulations made thereunder 10 the appropriate govemment may, by notiflcation in the ofilcial gueme,make rules consistmt wiih this act for all or any of the f&u()\\r- 4p ing p1lrpo'ses namely:- (~) the manner,in which an ~n~,or f$, to l::1(ercise the pow  under make rules, con~~r~d upon him under this act; ·(b) the inspecti® of premises of ships where any dock work is carried on; (0) the manner of aervices of orders made under this act; 5 {d) the term of office and other conditions of service of members of the adwiory committee, the manner of filling vacancies among, and the proceduft! to :be fallowed in, the discharge of their functions under sub-section (5) of section 9; (e) the procedure at inquiries under section 10; and ro (f) any other matter which is to be provided for by rules under this act 21 (l) the appropriate government may, by notification in the official gazette, make regulations consistent with this act for providing for the safety, health and welfare of dock workers power to make resuiations (2) such regulations may provide for all or any of the following 15 purposes, namely:-(a) providing for the general requirement relating 1;& the construction, equipping and maintenance for the safety of  working places on shore, ship, dook~ structure and other places at which any dock work is carried on; 20 (b) providing for the safety of any regular approach~ over a dock, wharf, quay or other places which dock workers have to use for going for work and for fencing of such places and projects; (e) providing for the efficient lighting of all areas of dook, -ship, any other vessel, dock structure or working places where any dock work is carried on and of all approaches to such places to which dock workers are required to go in the course of their employment; (d) providing and maintaining adequate ventilation and suitable temparature in every building or an enclosure on ship where dock workers are employed; 30 (e) providing for fire and explosion prevention and protection; (f) providing for safe means of acce!'l3s to ships, holds, stagings, equipment, lifting applian~ and other working places; (g) providing fqr the safety of workers engaged in the opening and closing of hatches, protection of ways and other openings in the 35 docks which may be dangerous to them; (h) providing for the safety of workars on clocks from the risk of falling overboard being struck by cargo during loading or unloading operations; (i) providing for the construction, 'maintenanc~ and use of lifting 40 and other cargo handling appliances and services, such as, pallets containing or supporting loads and provision of safety appliances on them, if necessary; (;) providing for the safety of workers employed in freight container tenn!nals or other terminals for handling unitised cargo; 45 (k) providing for the fencing of machinery, live electrical conductors, steam pipes and hazardous openings; (1) providing for the construc:tion, maintenance and us'!! of staging; (m) providing for the rigging and use of ship's derricks; (n) providing fof the testina, examination, inspection and certification as appropriate of loose gears including chains and ropel 5 and of slings and other lifting devices used in dock work; (0) provi~g for the precautions to be taken to facilitate escape of workers when employed in a· hold, bin, hopper or the like or between docks of a hold while handling coal or other bulk cargo; (p) providing for the measures to be taken in order to preventl () dangerous methods of working in the stacking, unstacking, stowing and unstowing of cargo or handling in ·connection therewith; (q) providing for the handling of dangerous substances and working in dangerous or harmful environments and the precautions to be taken in connection with such handling; l5 (r) providing for the work in connection with cleaning, chipping, painting operations and precautions to be taken in connection with such workj (s) ~roviding for the employment of persons for handling cargo handling appliances, power operated hatch covers or other power 20 operated shir's equipment, such as, door in the hull of a ship, ramp, retraceable car dock or similar equipment or to give signals to the drivers of such machinery; (t) providing for the transport of dock workers; (u) providing for the precautions to be taken to protect dock 25 workers against harmful effects of excessive noile, vibrations and air pollution at the work place; (v) providing for protective equipment or protective clothing; (w) providing for the sanitary, washing and welfare facilities; (x) providing for-(i) the medical supervision; (ii) the ambulance rooms, first aid and rescue facilities and arran~ments toj' the removal of dock workers to the nearest place of treatment; (iii) the safety and health organisationj and 35 (iv) the training of dock worms and for the obligation's and rights of the dock workers for their safety and health at the work place; (y) providing for the investigation of occupational accidents, dangerous occurrences and diseases, specifying such diseases and the 40 forms of notices, the persoru; and authorities to whom they are to be furnished, the pa;rticulars to be contained in them and the time within which tlley are to be submitted; and (z) providing for the submission of statement of accidents, man-days lost, volume of cargo handled and· particulars of dock 45 workers (3) the regulations made under this section may,-(a) provide for the circuiimtances in which and the conditions sub1ect to which, exemptiodi' from any; of' the regulations made ,under this section may be given specifying the authorit~es who may grant such exemptions and regulating their procedure; and 5 (b) make special provision to meet the spt!cial requitement of any p8,1'ticular port or ports (4)1 in making a regulation under this section, the appropriate government may direct that a breach thereof shall be punishable -with im-10 prisonment for a term which may extend to )3ix months, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupeesl 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 15 2z (1) the power to makerules and regulations conferred by s~tions general 20 and 21 is subject to the condition of the rules and reaulations being provision made after previous publications relauiij 100f 1897 (2) the date to be specified in accordance with clause (3) of section to rules 23 of the general clauses act, 1897 as that after which a draft of rules !aadtdi l!e'u- ons 20 or regulations proposed to be made will be taken under consideration, shall not be less than forty·five days from the date on which the draft of the proposed rules or regulations is published for general information (3) every rule and every regulation made under this act by the central government 'shall be laid, as soon as may be after· it is made, 25 before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or' in two or more successive session, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or regulation or both 30 houses agree that ihe rule or regulation should not be made, the· rule or regulatio:n shall thereafter have effect only in such modified fonn 01 be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or ,annulment shall he without preiudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or regulation, as the case may be,' 35 (4) every rule and every regulation made under this act by a state government shall he ]aid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the state legislature 23 in the dock workers (regulation of employment) act, 1948, section 3; in sub-section (2) ,-of 1948 in amendment of act 9 40 (a) in clause (g), the words "and welfare" shall be omitted; (b) clause (h) shall be omitted repeal 24 'the indian dock labourers a~t, 1934 is hereby repealed' j9 of 1934 savin  19 of 1934 9 ot 1948 25 tht! indian dock'labourers regulations, 1948 made under section 5 of the indian dock labourers act, 1934 so repealed and the dock 45 workers (safety health and welfare) scheme, 1961 made under section 40f the dock workers (regulation of employment) act, 1948 shall be deemed to be reguiations framed under this act and shall·be in force unless they are altered or repealed under this act the indian dock labourers act, 19m (19 of 19311), tile dock workers, (regulation of employment) act,l948 (9 of ims) and the dock wo~kers (safety, health ~d welfare) scheme, 1961, framed under the later act, inter alia deal with the matters relating to the protection against accident of workers employed in loading and unloadiftg ships, employment of dock workers and safety, health and ~lfare of dock workers thus, the law relating to the said matters is, at present, contained in more than one act 2 in view of the experience gaijaed by the wollkin« of ue act and the said scheme, it is felt that with a view to serving the intellelta of the dock workers more effectively, the law relating to safety, health and welfare of the said workers, as far as practicable, be contained in a single act accordingly, the proposed bill provides for the safety, health and welfare of dock workers and for matters connected therewith 3 the bill, among other things, seeks, ileter alia, to-(a) provide for the 9ilfety, health and welfare of dock workers in respect of all ports and all ships; (b) enlarge the definitions of "dock mjil"k" and "dock workers" 80 as to widen the scope of protection;  (c) specify that the appropriate government shall be, in relation to any major port, the central government, and, in relation to any other port, the state government concerned; (d) provide for the appointment of chief inspectors and inspectol's of dock sdfety with appropriate powers for enforcing the provisions of the proposed legislation; (e) provide for the constitution of aglviaory committees to advise upon matters arising out of the ac:iminutration of the proposed legislation; (1) empower the appropriate government to direct inquiry into eases of accidents and diseases; (g) lay down obligations of the dock workers in following certain safety practices; (h) empower the appropriate government to exempt any port or ship from the provisions of the proposed legislation subject to such conditions as it thinks fit; (i) provide for appropriate punishment for offences against the proposed legislation and also to provide for enhanced punwlmenta in the case of second and subsequentconvicticm and further to provide for certain minimum punishment in certain cues; (j) provide for thp repeal of the indian dock labourers act, 1934 (19 of 1934) and to make· necessary consequential amendments in the dock workers (regulation of employment) act, 1948 (9 of 1948) 4 the btll seeks to achieve the above· objects new delhi; t anjaiah the 19th august, 1985 , clause 3 of the dock workers (safety, health and welfare) bill, 1985, provides for the appointment of chief inspectors and inspectors of dock safety, by the appropriate government, for· purposes of enforcement of the provisions of the proposed legislation the central government shall be the appropriate government in respect of dock work eanied on in the maj or ports 2 at present, the aspects regarding safety, health and welfare of dock workers engaged in dock work, in so far as the major ports at bombay, calcutta, madras, cochin, kandla, paradeep, marmagoa, vishakhapatnam, new mangalore and new tuticorin are concerned, are enforced through the dock safety inspectorates under the organisation of the directorate general of factory ~dvice service and labour institutes, bombay  the provisions of the proposed legislation are also to be enforced in the central sphere by the same dock safety inspectorates for which the current expenditure in a financial year from the consolidated fund of india is approximately rs 10 lakhs " 3 it would be necessary at a later stage to restructure and augment the dock safety inspectorates in the centre so as to make enforcement of the proposed law more effeetivp and this would involve additional expenditure in the future yeal'9 to be incurred from the consolidated fund of india it is not possible at this stage to compute the exact financial requirements on this account in future the extension of ~he act to minor ports would also involve additional expenditure which would be borne by the state governments 4 the bill does not involve' any other expenditure of a recurring or non-recurring nature clause 12 of the bill empowers the appropriate government to exempt any port or ship from' all or any of the provisions of the 'proposed legislation on such conditions, if any, as it thinks fit circumstances in which such power can be exercised have' been laid down in the said clause it has also been provided in that clause that the appropriate government shall not grant such ~emption unless it is satisfied that such exemption will not adversely affect the health,' safety and welfare of dock workers this power is necessary to meet various circumstances and contingencies which cannot be visualised 2 clause 20 of the bill empowers the appropriate government to make rules in respect of,matters falling within the purview of that clause the matters in respect of whicn rules may be made, inter alia, relate to the mannei' in whidt an inspector is 'to exercise the power cdnferred upon him the inspection 'of premises ·or ships where any dock work is carried on, the terms of office and other conditions of service of members of the advisory committe!f>~ and the p~edure to be followed  at an inquiry under clause 10 of the proposed'legislation the matters with respect to which l'ules may be made undet" this ,provision woulltrelate to ltlatters of procedure or detail  3 likewise clause 21 of the bill empowers the appropriate government to make regulations for providing for the matters relating to the health, safety and welfare of dock workers sub-clause (2) of that clause also enumerates the specific matters in this behalf for which such regulations may be made the matters with  respect to which regulations may be made for the purposes of health, safety and welfare of the dock workers under this provision would relate to matters of procedure or detail 4 in view of the reasons given above, the delegation of legislative power under the afore~aid provisions is normal in character   annexure extract from the dock woioalrs (reotnation of employmmrt)act 1948 (9 of 1948) - - - - - 3 (1) - - - - (2) in particular, a scheme may provide-- - - - - scheme for ensuring replar employmentof workers (g) for the training and welfare of dock workers, in so far as satisfactory provision therefor does not exist apart from the scheme; - - - - - (h) for health and safety measures in places where dock workers are employed, in 80 far as satisfactory provision therefor does not exist apart from the scheme; - - - - - -  a billto provjde for the safety, health and welfare of dock workprs and for matters connected therewith  (s'hri t anjiah, minister of state t1j the miflutr:rj of labour) 