The recycling of ships can be made safe if major countries ratify an International Maritime Organisation convention says the international union body IndustriALL.
At a meeting in Mandurah, south of Perth, international union delegates vowed to step up their campaign to create safe working conditions for workers who face highly dangerous working conditions.
The meeting follows an accident at the Gadani shipyard west of Karachi in Pakistan that claimed the lives of at least 26 workers.
It’s believed a series of explosions tore through a vessel that was being broken apart by hand killing the workers and injuring scores more.
The director of IndustriALL’s Ship Building And Ship Breaking Sector Kan Matsuzaki said if the convention, drawn up in 2009 in Hong Kong, was in place the accident could have been avoided.
He said the convention spells out safety requirements including the wearing of protective clothing, hazard reduction, and the removal of toxic and dangerous substances such as asbestos, oil and gas.
“Almost every year we have very serious accidents especially in three countries, which are India, Bangladesh and Pakistan,” Mr Matsuzaki said.
He said workers in Pakistan could earn up to US$130 a month breaking up ships but not if they were injured and could not work.
A ship on fire in the coastal town of Gadani, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016. (AAP) Source: AP
He said many workers did not have gloves and had to carry cut pieces of steel in their bare hands.
“Every day they cut their hands (on) the cut steel, but when they go to the clinics in the ship breaking yard there’s no doctor at all,” he said.
“They have to wait for the doctor to come to them, but they don’t know when the doctor will come.”
Indian union official and IndustriALL member Vidyadhar Vasudeo Rane said even though ships were sold to brokers before being sent to south west Asia, the countries of origin had a moral obligation to ensure they were broken up safely.
“All the unions in these three countries (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) are trying their best to give justice to the ship breaking workers; raising their voice at every level,” Mr Rane said.
The Australian Maritime Workers’ Union national assistant secretary Glenn Thompson said Australia, although not a major ship builder or owner, could be a leader in the region by signing the convention.
“This is about what is the right thing for Australia to do to be a good global citizen,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure and Regional Development said Australia was aware of concerns about ship recycling safety standards, but was considering ratifying the convention.
“Australia has a relatively small ocean going fleet and no large ship breaking and recycling industry,” he said.
“However we acknowledge the significance of the Convention and we will be monitoring the progress of its entry into force.”
The convention needs 15 countries to sign before it can be ratified.
