KARACHI: After consultation with government
officials, the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) has prepared a draft of a
ship-breaking code, it emerged on Sunday.
Labour leaders and trade unionists had been
insisting on creating a ship-breaking code, on the lines of the one in India,
to prevent the growing number of accidents at the yard, claiming more than 32
lives in the last three months.
Speaking about the draft, deputy general
secretary of the NTUF Nasir Mansoor said a ship-breaking code had been
discussed at an earlier meeting with the Kalat division commissioner, Muhammad
Hashim, in December 2016. It was discussed that a code would ensure that hiring
would be based on contracts, by a person or an institution having the legal
authority, and a registered company, to hire skilled workers on a ship. “The
draft is ready, which may be changed and amended if needed,” said Mansoor. “We
are ensuring that the basic grievances are covered so the workers are not at
risk when they begin working.”
The draft includes the oft-repeated demands
of the workers, most of whom come from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These demands were
also covered during the meeting in December. The draft also says that any
worker employed in the yard will be given a card or a ticket specifying the
category of work assigned to him. Every worker at the time of appointment will
be given an appointment letter in compliance of the terms and conditions of
employment as prescribed in the Industrial and Commercial Employment of the
Standing Orders Ordinance.
At the same time, any yard hiring more than
10 workers will have to insure the workers in case of natural death, disability
and injury according to the Workmen Compensation Act 1923.
Earlier, labour activists demanded that
health facilities be ensured at the ship-breaking yard. During multiple press
conferences at the Karachi Press Club, the NTUF and Pakistan Institute of
Labour Education and Research (Piler) demanded enforcement of basic safety
guidelines. The demands included helmets, gloves, shoes and goggles to protect
the workers’ eyes. The government did provide health gear which was shown in
media reports.
Executive director of Piler Karamat Ali
pointed out that the ship-breaking yard was the only industry which did not
fall under any ministry or labour department. It fell under the Balochistan
Development Authority, which, he added, failed to ensure safety of the workers.
Earlier, a fact-finding commission led by the
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) pointed out the negligence of
authorities. The report added that timely intervention could have averted
accidents. Based on the accounts of eyewitnesses, the report mentioned that the
number of workers killed in the Nov 1 incident could be more than 80.
There are 12,000 workers currently working at
the ship-breaking yard in Gadani. The sector is often neglected, according to
trade unionists, as a majority of the workers are migrants, 70 per cent of whom
belong to KP. Another neglected community is the Pakistanis known as Bengalis
and Burmese, who form 20 per cent of the work force, and are assigned tasks
that might compromise their safety, according to union president Bashir
Mehmoodani, “as they belong to a vulnerable group who can’t speak up for
themselves.”
Twenty-six workers were killed on Nov 1 when
a decommissioned oil tanker, Aces, docked at yard 54, exploded during a gas
welding job. Four persons are still ‘missing’ since the incident in which many
on board the fateful ship were injured.
On Jan 8, 24-year-old Dilshaad fell from the
emergency lifeboat of the ship named Snowdon, at yard 69. According to
eyewitnesses, the emergency lock on the boat broke. Just a day later, Jan 9,
five workers were burnt to death in a fire that erupted at an LPG container on
a ship named Chaumadra, at yard 60. A similar incident had happened at the same
yard on Dec 22 though workers had managed to quickly disembark the ship at that
time. Trade unions reiterated their demand that all the owners be arrested and
punished for their negligence.
Source:
dawn. 16 January 2017
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