Dealers seek legislation to restrict offloading of premium vehicles to those with expertise

The incident in which an employee of an automobile showroom was run over while offloading a premium car from a trailer at Chalikkavattom here on June 22, 2025, night has assumed further significance after the Kerala Automobile Dealers Association (KADA) petitioned the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) demanding legislation restricting the offloading of vehicles to those with expertise alone.

The deceased was identified as Roshan Antony Xavier, 36, of Pandikudi in Mattancherry. Anshad, who was engaged to offload the vehicles from the trailer, was booked by the Palarivattom police for causing death by negligence and endangering life or personal safety through rash or negligent behaviour. The deceased standing on the ramp of the trailer was knocked down by the vehicle which was being driven out on reverse. The car also hit a few electric posts in the area before coming to a halt.

“Apart from seeking legislation, we also called for compensation for the victim’s family. We submitted the petition on Thursday, and in the evening we received a mail from the CMO informing that the Ernakulam District Collector had been asked to submit a report on the incident,” said R. Renjith, an office-bearer of KADA. However, Collector N.S.K. Umesh said he had not yet received any intimation.

Mr. Renjith said it was common practice across the State for headload workers affiliated with trade unions with little expertise to force trailer operators transporting vehicles to engage them for offloading vehicles. The other option was to pay them ‘Nokkukooli’.

However, C.K. Manisankar, State vice-president, Headload Workers’ Federation (CITU) shot down the allegation claiming that headload or general workers of not just the CITU but of any trade union were involved in the offloading of automobiles. “When automobile showrooms proliferated, some units of the CITU staked claimed to offloading vehicles. But as it emerged that it was a specialised work, we decided against it realising that it could lead to the unacceptable practice of nokkukooli,” he said.

It is not yet clear whether the accused involved in the incident was a trade union member. Mr. Manisankar said action should be taken against those usurping such specialised work using the cover of trade unions.