Workers anticipate
better times as the government takes steps to bring a growing sector up to date
in terms of health and safety.
Mohammad Shahed, 37, is
a plate cutter who has been working at Chittagong's Kabir Shipbreaking Yard for
the past decade. He came to Chittagong from Chandpur with his father after the
family lost their land and home to a devastating cyclone in 1991.
"At an automotive
workshop here, I learned how to work on machines," Shahed told Khabar
South Asia. "But as they did not pay adequately, I had to come to the
shipbreaking sector."
He currently makes Tk 40
($0.50) per hour. Along with his wife's monthly income as a garment factory
worker at Chittagong Export processing zone, they can maintain the expenses of
their family, including their two children.
Around 200,000 workers
earn their livelihood in the shipbreaking yards of Chittagong. As the industry
continues to burgeon, the quality of their lives stands to improve. Meanwhile,
the government and some shipyards are beginning to address safety, health and
environmental issues that have blighted the sector.
An industry with
'potential'
Recycled ships provide
nearly 70% of the scrap metals Bangladesh needs for its construction and real
estate sectors. Furniture and other items are also recycled.
Last year, Bangladesh
remained the world's second largest shipbreaker after Pakistan, followed by
India.
In 2012, Bangladesh's 70
shipbreaking yards dismantled 260 ships weighing 3.1m tonnes in all, according
to the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association (BSBA), which puts the industry's
annual worth at $1.2 billion.
"Our workers are
also quite content as, despite being mostly unskilled, they receive the highest
wages compared to other industries in Bangladesh, according to the Ministry of
Labour and Employment," A.K.M. Nazmul Islam, secretary of BSBA, told
Khabar.
Bangladesh in 2011
recognised the sector as a "separate industry, considering its huge
potential and economic benefits", and placed it under the Ministry of
Industries.
Better standards mean
more opportunity
But as the industry's growth
picks up, experts say it is becoming more urgent to address longstanding
concerns.
"The sector has a
global opportunity, as it is labor intensive and contributes largely to the
economy. But adequate measures need to be taken to address the environmental
concerns related to it," Mustafizur Rahman, economist and Executive
Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in Dhaka, told Khabar.
Most ships contain an
average of 15,000 pounds of asbestos, and 10 to 100 tonnes of lead paint. As
they are dismantled on the seashore, environmentalists fear these pollutants,
along with solid waste, are dumped into the sea.
"Dry docking of
end-of-life ships before dismantling is still necessary in the sector. Also,
the waste from broken down ships should be shipped back to the designated
country," said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh
Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).
Also, workers are
exposed to asbestos, mercury, arsenic and other toxic materials. As long as
such labour and environmental threats remain unaddressed, "the sector will
not be commercially viable", Hasan said.
Compensation welcomed
With those issues in
mind, the government is planning an oversight board to develop the country's
shipbuilding and shipbreaking industries.
Speaking at a June 19th
roundtable titled "Promoting Sustainable Finance in Ship Recycling
Industry in Bangladesh", Industries Minister Dilip Barua said that a law
to set up such a board was nearing enactment.
A draft has
"already been prepared based on the views and opinions of stakeholders and
experts," the minister said, hoping the move would promote "green
industrialisation with zero risk, as well as zero pollution."
Workers are now being
trained in relevant skills and in workplace safety, and receiving safety gear,
according to BSBA.
Muhammad Ali Shahin,
Bangladesh co-ordinator of NGO Shipbreaking Platform, an international
coalition working to clean up the industry, said most shipbreaking yards now
pay compensation for workplace accidents and deaths.
"This was hardly
paid by yard-owners even two years back," he said.
Source:
Khabar South Asia. By S. Chowdhury. 14 August 2013
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