A truck carrying heavy equipment en route to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), a wing of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was blocked by a group of workers in Thiruvananthapuram demanding “gawking charge”.

‘Gawking charge’ or Nokkukooli is a normalised practice in Kerala where organized labour unions extort money from individuals or businesses to allow them to load unload their belongings.

It literally means charging money for “gawking” or staring at people loading or unloading cargo.

From shifting houses to transporting goods for marriage to business shipments or even construction, everyone has had to pay hefty sums for Nokkukooli to registered trade unions, members of which just come and “gawk”.

Because of this practice, the lower-middle-class families depend on local labourers and autorickshaw drivers to move household articles from one location to another to escape the extortion by the labour unions.

This practice is basically organised extortion by trade unions and local Leftist goons in the communist-ruled state.

Three days earlier, the Kerala High Court pulled up the state government for not effectively implementing the law to get rid of the strange practice called ‘nokku kooli,’ in local parlance which means gawking wages.

In 2018 the Kerala government had abolished the practice of charging people by licenced members of the head load workers by not doing any work.

Affiliated to militant trade unions, the practice is still continuing in many parts of the state. Fearing violence and intimidation many end up paying charges sought by them. It is better known as extortion by registered trade unions.

The VSSC officials said their truck was stranded for more than four hours after workers sought ₹10 lakh. Later they informed the CM’s office about this and labour minister V Sivankutty intervened and the truck was allowed to go inside the high security premises after several rounds of talks and protest.

A labour ministry official said action will be taken against labour leaders who provoked workers and local people. Among trade unions the CPI(M)-controlled CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions) is prominent.

Image source: Hindustan Times