Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1974

This 1974 Act lets the Federal Government regulate how dock workers -- people employed to load and unload ships at Pakistani ports -- are recruited, registered and employed, replacing an earlier 1973 ordinance on the same subject. Section 2 defines "dock worker" as anyone employed in loading, unloading, or related work at a port.

Section 3 is the core provision: the Federal Government can, by official notification, create a "scheme" for registering dock workers to promote regular employment and efficient turnaround of ships. Such a scheme can cover a long list of matters -- who it applies to, registration and fee requirements, terms and conditions of employment (pay rates, hours, holidays), minimum pay guarantees during periods without work, welfare and training, health and safety, and how the scheme's costs are funded and administered. A scheme applies to specific ports as notified, and Section 3(4) allows it to criminalise contraventions with imprisonment up to six months (one year for repeat offences) or a fine up to two thousand five hundred rupees (five thousand for repeat offences), or both.

Section 5 requires that any funds previously held for dock workers' benefit by any person, board or committee be transferred to the Federal Government (or a body it designates) upon the Act's commencement, along with records and accounts; anyone in charge of such funds cannot spend them afterward and is personally liable for any unauthorized spending, with penalties of up to two years' imprisonment or a five-thousand-rupee fine, or both, for violations (Section 5(3)). Section 6 allows recovery of money owed under Section 5 as an arrear of land revenue.

Section 7 requires a written complaint from an authorised Inspector or Federal Government officer before any court can take cognizance of an offence, with cases triable only by a first-class Magistrate. Section 8 makes the Act and any scheme override other conflicting laws, and Section 9 repeals the predecessor 1973 Ordinance. The fine and imprisonment figures date from 1974 and should be checked against the current official text before being relied on.