GADANI: The National Trade
Union Federation (NTUF) and its affiliate Ship Breaking Workers Union took out
a rally in Gadani on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the deadliest
disaster in the shipbreaking industry and protest against the unchanged state
of affairs at yards.
On November 1 of last year,
29 workers were killed and several others wounded after a decommissioned oil
tanker, Aces, caught fire during its dismantling. The fire rapidly engulfed the
whole ship and intensified apparently due to the presence of flammable gases
and liquids on it. It took at least three days for fire fighters to put out the
blaze.
Addressing the participants
of the rally, NTUF President Rafiq Baloch said shipbreaking workers lived in a
state of modern slavery as their employers and government authorities had done
nothing to improve their conditions, despite the tall claims made when the
tragedy hit.
Not declaring November 1 a
holiday in remembrance of the fallen workers was a show of their imperialist
mindset, he said. The workers were still deprived of health and safety
facilities and their lives were in grave danger, he said.
Since the Aces’ fire, nine
more had been killed in similar incidents in Gadani and recently a worker was
wounded as a gas cylinder went off at a yard. The responsibility of these
deaths lie on the shoulders of the employers -owner, management and contractor
– as well as on the authorities like labour department, police, customs,
environment protection agency, district administration, land authorities
because they had been criminally tight-lipped, blind and deaf on the prevalent
wrongdoings in Gadani, he said.
A large number of workers
were present at the rally. The SBWU President Bashir Mehmoodani said the
workers were being pushed into an alley of death by their employers just for
the sake of financial gains. He said the workers were still deprived of appointment
letters, registration with social security and pensions funds.
Mehmoodani said the oil
tanker fire victims were not paid any compensation by the federal and
Balochistan governments nor was the sum of Rs 500,000 announced by the Workers
Welfare Board given to them. He said the government and employers didn’t fulfil
their promises and did not act according to the agreement reached through a
tripartite mechanism. He added that a local had donated a piece of land earlier
this year for the establishment of a hospital on it; however, no progress had
been made in that regard.
The rally presented
following demands: A legislation should be promulgated on the shipbreaking
industry by taking onboard the real representative union of workers;
international conventions be ratified; health and safety measures be
implemented; working and living conditions be improved; access to safe drinking
water, hygienic canteens, and clean toilets ensured; workers’ transport system
be improved; a 24/7 health facility be established; contract system be
abolished; labour colonies be made; other basic utilities be provided; and The
Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and environmentally sound
recycling of ships rectified.
Source:
daily
times. 02 November 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment