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Page context: Home > Transport International Magazine > Issue 26 January 2007 > Breaking point
When three workers travelled to London to speak to the IMO (International Maritime Organization) about shipbreaking in Asia, they arrived armed with proof of the horrific and often deadly conditions the tens of thousands of workers they represent face daily. In the face of an attempted whitewash by their employers the delegation – two shipbreakers and the secretary of their trade union – backed up their message that they wanted jobs, but not at any price, with film footage and photos.
Assisted by the ITF and IMF (International Metalworkers’ Federation) the men came to London in October to plead with the IMO and British Government to speed up reform that could save lives across the industry. Thanks to international union support they were able to present their audience – and the international press – with secretly shot film of shoeless workers as young as 14 slaving in the most primitive conditions imaginable, and removing great rolls of crumbling asbestos by hand, without masks, gloves or even overalls.
Just before making their presentation, the delegation threw flowers into the River Thames in memory of the hundreds who die each year as a result of the injuries, disease and environmental degradation caused by the largely unregulated industry. They held this ceremony opposite the IMO building, where negotiations are under way to develop internationally agreed regulations on the recycling of ships. However, adoption of the regulations is not expected until 2009, and proper implementation not until 2015 at best.
Thousands of shipbreaking workers die, are injured or fall ill when recycling vessels in one of the world’s most dangerous, dirty and largely unregulated industries. Ninety-five per cent of old ships are broken up and recycled on the beaches of Bangladesh, India, China, Pakistan and Turkey. In the most appalling conditions, earning less than a dollar a day, shipbreaking workers face hazards such as fire, explosions, falls from great heights and exposure to asbestos, heavy metals and PVCs.
The only jobs going
Vidyadhar Rane, one of the delegation and secretary of the Mumbai Port Trust, Dock and General Employees’ Union, called on the IMO members to deliver a mandatory set of regulations that set clear standards and protect the lives of shipbreaking workers immediately. He explained: “People don’t have goggles, they don’t have helmets, masks or safety boots – many don’t have any kind of boots. There should be work, but there should be no compromise on safe work. I am appealing to the developed countries who send their ships to Asia to take some responsibility and save lives.”
IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi explained: “In many countries the state of shipbreaking is an open scandal. The answer is not to shut it down – to call for that is to ignore that it is a vital industry for tens of thousands of people for whom no alternative employment exists. The solution is to reform, train and support.”
| Current reality and progress towards change |
ITF general secretary David Cockroft commented: “We’re all behind the IMO in tackling this terrible problem, but 10 years is too long. Many of these workers – men, women and children – aren’t going to live that long. With estimates of nearly 400 EU flagged ships alone requiring recycling by 2010, delay is not an option.”
Snapshot of near slavery
Speaking in London, the delegation were able to paint a vivid and sometimes appalling picture of the daily grind they and their colleagues in other countries face. Pointing to footage of people digging in deep, crumbling pits, Vidyadhar Rane explained: “This is what people do when there’s no other work available. They dig for the smallest pieces of scrap that have been overlooked during breaking – rivets and fragments of metal. It takes three days to find enough to sell for one dollar. Except that the local mafia soon woke up to this new source of revenue and demanded half of that sum.”
He explained the conditions his union found – and continues to struggle against – when it began to organise in Mumbai and Alang, where 66,000 people are employed in the sector: “When we started there were various issues. Unsafe work. A lack of government interest. Mafia involvement at every level. At first there was no drinking water. We provided it, although in places even though it’s there as their right, people have to pay the mafia if they want it. Another urgent priority we were able to tackle was the complete lack of safety advice and help with injuries. With the help of St John’s Ambulance and the Red Cross we were able to lay on some ambulance support and health and safety training.”
Emerging from a meeting with Hilary Benn, the British secretary of state for international development, held after the workers presented their case to the IMO, Rane reported that both opportunities to speak had been worthwhile. “Not only did we appeal to the IMO to save the lives of workers, but also our meeting with Hilary Benn was very positive. This visit has enabled us to be heard.”
Section home:
Issue 26 January 2007
Other pages for Issue 26 January 2007:
Comment: gender barriers | Representing the unrecongnised | Winning for all | Future secured for German railways | Taking the strain | Big push for rights | Border dialogues | Waiting and hoping | Tricks of my trade | Reflections on women in trade unions | Working life
Other pages for Breaking point:
Current reality and progress towards change
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