Timber auctions are not being conducted in four depots under the Thiruvananthapuram Division of the Forest Department. The auction was stalled due to the issue of loading and unloading charges. Due to this, the forest department is suffering a loss of revenue of 24 crores per month. Despite the existence of a strong loading and unloading law and court interventions against excessive wages, wage disputes and the indifference of the labour department still exist in the state. Forty thousand rupees are demanded as wages for loading a load of wood. Such high wages are existing in depots under the Thiruvananthapuram Division. The loading charge for the same load at the Perumbavoor depot under the Forest Department is Rs 20,400. Rs 25,000 in Walayar.

In a country where laws and regulations are in force, it is wrong to think that things are according to them. Not only common people but even government institutions are forced to yield to the demands put forward by the headload workers. That's why we often read news of headload workers demanding huge fees for moving even files while shifting from one office building to another. The wage rates are fixed in timber depots under the Thiruvananthapuram Division of the Forest Department as well. However, the decision of the unions to raise the rates on their own has paved the way for the crisis. Usually, fifty loads of timber get loaded through three auctions in a month. No one turned up for the auction in June due to a wage dispute. It is estimated that the forest department has lost Rs 24 crore in auction revenue. If there is a dispute over the wage issue, the labour department usually intervenes and finds a solution. However, no one has intervened even though the timber auction has been stopped for a month. Timber auctioned earlier is also lying in the depot. Outsiders approach the forest department depots mainly for teak wood. Most of them will be timber merchants. Those who need more wooden materials for house construction etc. also come and participate in the auction in person. Even after the auction, one has to cross many hurdles to take the timber to one's place.

Laws and regulations are applicable to any profession. This is a state where the strange practice of paying a 'nokkukooli' (gawking wages) exists. Although it is said that nokkukooli has been prohibited, it still exists in various forms in many fields. Leaders are turning a blind eye towards this unethical practice. Everyone is forced to pay the wages set by the unions. Unions often come up with demands for nokkukooli even in areas where loading and unloading workers cannot intervene in any way. Recently, the unions created big news by trying to create a crisis by demanding nokkukooli to unload the huge machine parts brought to the ISRO centre in Thumba. When such problems arise, the labour department and the law enforcers should intervene and find a quick solution. The law itself will remain a mute spectator if they turn a blind eye to illegal activities.