Tamil Nadu Fishermen and Labourers Engaged in Fishing and Other Allied Activities (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2007
No: 19 Dated: Jun, 08 2007
Tamil Nadu Fishermen and Labourers Engaged in Fishing and Other Allied Activities (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2007
(Tamil Nadu Act 19 of 2007)
An Act to provide for comprehensive social security and for ensuring well being of fishermen and labourers engaged in fishing and other allied activities.
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the Fifty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Fishermen and Labourers engaged in Fishing and other Allied Activities (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2007.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Tamil Nadu.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification, appoint.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(1) "allied activity" means an activity of a person who is working as beach worker, peeling worker, processing labourer, boat building yard worker, net mending worker, or small scale fish distributor for his livelihood;
(2) "beach worker" means a person who is employed in fishing harbours or fish landing centres or fish landing, sites to carry out activities such as,-
(a) unloading offish from fishing crafts to fish baskets;
(b) transportation of fish baskets to auction site or icing site;
(c) transportation of trash fish or, small fish, to curing site;
(d) sorting of fish at the landing site, unloading and crushing of ice, packing of fish with ice in boxes and loading of packed boxes into vehicles used for transportation;
(e) loading of fish directly from boats to lorries, sale of ice in the fishing harbours or fish landing centres;
(f) cleaning of auction hall, fishing crafts and supplying water for fishing boats;
(3) "Board" means a Board established under section 5;
(4) "boat building yard worker" means a worker who is engaged in construction and repairing of fibre reinforced plastic and wooden boats;
(5) "dealer" means any person who carries on, within the State of Tamil Nadu, the business of buying or selling or processing, fish or exporting fish in raw or in processed form or fish products and includes,-
(a) a commission agent, a broker or any other mercantile agent, by whatever name called; and
(b) a non-resident dealer or an agent of a non-resident dealer or a local branch of a firm or company or association situated outside the State of Tamil Nadu;
(6) "dependent" in relation to a registered member, means any of the relatives of such member as specified below:-
(i) wife or husband, as the case may be;
(ii) children;
(iii) widow and children of the pre-deceased son; and
(iv) parents;
(7) "employer" means a person who engages labourers;
(8) "fish" means fish of all varieties including prawn, lobster, shell fish, clam, squids and any other aquatic organism exploited commercially for edible purpose or for manure;
(9) "fish farm" means the land of water spread area of fresh water or brackish water or saline water in which cultivating of fish is carried on;
(10) "fish products" means fish in raw or in processed form;
(11) "fisheries" means marine fisheries, inland fisheries, brackish water fisheries, mariculture which includes lobsters, crabs, fin fish, seaweed, oyster, mussel culture, pearl and chank fishery, breeding, raising offish seeds and farming, ornamental fish culture, sewage fed fish culture and also any other fisheries as may be notified by the Government;
(12) "fisherman" means any person in the age group of 18-65 years,-
(i) engaged in fishing, drying of fish, sale of fish or other allied activities for his livelihood,
(ii) who owns fish farm not exceeding 2.5 acres of land,
(iii) who owns,-
(a) one country craft, or
(b) one country craft fitted with outboard motor or inboard engine with capacity of less than 15 HP, or
(c) one coracle in fresh water;
(13) "fund" means the Tamil Nadu Fishermen and Labourers engaged in Fishing and other allied activities (Social Security and Welfare) Fund established under a scheme;
(14) "Government" means the State Government;
(15) "labourer" means any person in the age group of 18 to 65 years, engaged to work in fishing or other allied activities or in fisheries or in fish farms for wages, but who does not own any crafts;
(16) "Member-Secretary" means the Member-Secretary of the Board constituted under section 5;
(17) "net mending worker" means a worker engaged in mending and repair of fishing net;
(18) "peeling worker" means a worker who is engaged in peeling prawn, lobster, clam, cleaning squids and cuttle fishes in huts, peeling sheds and fish processing plants;
(19) "processing" means any means of preservation' of fish products effected with or without physical or chemical changes by mechanical means or otherwise, intended to facilitate increase in the shelf life of fish or fish products or to avoid loss during transit or value addition;
(20) "processing labourer" means a worker who is engaged in cleaning, grading, processing and packing offish or fish products;
(21) "registered members" means fishermen-and labourers engaged in fishing and other allied activities registered as a member under a Scheme;
(22) "Schedule" means a Schedule to this Act;
(23) "Scheme" means a scheme made by the Government under this Act;
(24) "small scale fish distributor" means any person engaged for a period of not less than one hundred and twenty days in a year in the distribution of fish from fish landing centres or fish harbours or fish curing yards or markets through retail outlets or by house delivery and includes, -
(a) auto-carrier distributors;
(b) cycle load vendors;
(c) drivers and cleaners engaged in fish transporting on a permanent basis;
(d) head load vendors, including vendors, who sell fish in temporary camps;
(e) mini lorry distributors; and
(f) moped load distributors.