1. A very interesting and very important question of law, in the present industrial climate in the State, arises in this case. The question is whether for registration under Rule 26A of the Kerala Headload Workers Rules, it is necessary that the persons seeking registration should be headload workers already working under an employer who seeks to employ them as his permanent attached headload workers. The said question of law arises in the following factual matrix:-

2. The petitioner is an employer running an establishment as defined under Section 2(j) of the Kerala Headload Workers Act. In the course of his business he has to get loading and unloading work also done in his establishment. The petitioner started the business in the year 2005. Initially he employed his own permanent registered headload workers, who were three in number. According to the petitioner, as time passed, the registered workers voluntarily left the employment of the petitioner due to various personal reasons and, therefore, he engaged respondents 3 and 4 to do headload work, who filed Ext.P4 applications for registration under Rule 26A of the Kerala Headload workers Rules, before the 2nd respondent