Calls have
grown for dramatic reforms at the Gadani shipbreaking area in Pakistan
following last week’s tragic blaze on a beached FSO which has resulted in 26
confirmed deaths so far with the eventual death toll expected to be
significantly higher.
Work at the
yard remains suspended today.
At a protest
organised by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) yesterday the
federation’s secretary general Nasir Mansoor called for swift change to the
yard’s dire safety conditions.
Mansoor also
demanded compensation of Rs3m should be paid to the families of the bereaved
and Rs500,000 for any injured worker.
Another NTUF
member Gul Rahman criticised the government’s limited response to the disaster.
“Such apathy can be changed only through agitation by workers,” Rahman said.
The speakers
at the protest called for a shipbreaking code to be instituted in Pakistan,
noting how workplace accidents at Indian breaking yards had dropped since New
Delhi put in its own ship recycling regulations.
Mystery
remains over the number of casualties from the accident last week. Local
reports suggest around 250 people were working on the FSO when the blast
occurred with around 100 people still unaccounted for.
The
government has formed an inquiry committee to find out what caused the deadly
inferno. The committee held its first meeting in the port city of Karachi
Saturday and said it would finalise a report within a week.
Source: splash247. 07 November 2016
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