Following a series of
collective bargaining negotiations over wages and labor conditions, the three
labor unions for shipbreaking workers in Gadani, Pakistan are engaged in a
dispute over which might be the legitimate representative of the yards' workers.
The Ship-Breaking Labour Union, Gadani alleges that all of the others are
"fake."
At a recent press
conference, union finance secretary Musharraf Humayun told The News that
"fake groups" held "unauthorized press conferences" and
masqueraded as workers' unions. In particular, he singled out Nasil Mansoor of
the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF). However, workers allege that the
Ship-Breaking Labour Union is actually controlled by shipbreaking labour
contractors – the employers – and say that they must agree with its views or
find themselves out of work.
Last month, NTUF and its partners
called for a labor action to protest slow implementation of promised safety
improvements, like an ambulance service and a fire brigade. Mansoor claimed
that employers had installed out-of-date safety equipment salvaged from ships
and had not yet hired ambulance drivers or doctors. But the union reached an
accord with shipbreaking employers last Friday, including a 10 percent raise,
and it called off the strike. NTUF has worked to avoid yard closures, even
while calling for improvements, saying that the yards' impoverished migrant
workers would be hurt more by the loss of work.
Gadani has been plagued by a
series of deadly accidents over the past year, including the explosion and fire
aboard the decommissioned FPSO Aces, which killed at least 26 workers and
injured dozens more. Seven workers have died in various accidents over the
months since, including five killed in another ship fire in January.
Source: maritime-executive.
09 August 2017
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