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A worker rests on a heap of iron scrap at Gadani ship-breaking yard.
PHOTO: EXPRESS
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QUETTA: Workers at the Gadani ship-breaking yard have been facing
economic deprivation and hardship for the last decade or so. Their troubles
stem mainly from the government’s lack of attention.
Despite the unsafe working conditions and potential health risks in
Gadani, little has been done to shield workers from harm and provide them
proper medical care.
The head of the labour union, Bashir Hamdani, told The Express Tribune
that there are neither facilities for the labourers at the yard, nor are there
any arrangements for clean drinking water. “Due to the non-availability of
machinery, labourers have to carry heavy loads on their shoulders because of
which they often sustain injuries during their work,” he said.
The labour union chief said the ship-breaking yard and its workers
were victims of neglect despite paying seven billion rupees in taxes to the
Federal Board of Revenue.
“Between 2000 and April 2015, 105 labourers have died in the ship
breaking yard but up to 43 labourer’s heirs had yet to be paid the compensation
promised,” Hamdani said. “A majority of yard workers have stomach disorders due
to the filthy water we consume,” he said.
Hamdani pointed out that as many as 132 ship breaking plots are
available on 12 kilometres of land in Gadani – counted by industry experts as
the world’s third largest shipping breaking yard. The actual ship-breaking
industry is located 8 kilometres away from the main Gadani town.
Kareem Khan, general secretary of the labour union, says that though
the number of plots in the ship-breaking
yard have increased to over 132 in Gadani only 32 of them are registered.
“Ships from Iran, Europe, Libya, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq and Greece come to be
scrapped here,” he said.
Some 9,000 labourers are working in 132 these plots. And yet the
authorities haven’t provided even basic health care to them. What they do have
is a clinic with one bed and an ambulance for the workers, he said.
The weight of the ships brought to Gadani ranges between 1,000 tons
and 80,000 tons. “Three to four hundred labourers work here to break a single
ship,” he said. Among the work force one can find loaders, helpers, ship
welders, field welders, flakers, crane operators, fork lifters, sweepers,
foremen, wrench operators, drivers and store-keepers.
Kareem Khan said it takes three months or to reduce a ship to scrap in
Gadani. “There are as of now 240 ships scrapped here while around 35 ships are
anchored to be scrapped,” he said.
Mohammad Sharif, an employee working in a ship breaking yard, said he
suffered burn injuries last year when he was caught in an explosion on one of
the ships. There were burn injuries all over his body. “I had to spend 0.2
million rupees to recover from those injuries,” Sharif said. “The government
should at least make a good health unit for the ship breaking yard.”
“Also, we don’t have facilities to dispose of ship waste,” Sharif
said. A toxic brew of chemicals and engine oil is dumped into the sand close to
the shore. “There is a foul smell here. It is overpowering but we are now used
to it,” he added.
Source: the express tribune. 3 May
2015
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