Milestone moment for safer ports in Colombo

A report outlining the results of a safety inspection of Colombo ports has been presented to the Chairman of the Sri Lankan Ports Authority (SLPA), Dr Parakrama Dissanayake.
 

The report was prepared by the International Transport Workers Union (ITF).

The General Secretary of National Union of Sri Lankan Seafarers Mr Ranjan Perera said the delivery of the report was an important milestone, and a significant step towards a safer working environment for Sri Lankan dock workers.

“Safety is a major concern for workers at all Sri Lankan ports.

“Dock workers have been shocked and saddened by the deaths of three of their colleagues in tragic workplace incidents this year.

“It is clear that safety standards need to be improved.

“We have been heartened by the positive response of the SLPA and terminal operators, and we look forward to working together constructively to implement the recommendations of the report.”

ITF Dockers Section Senior Assistant Steve Biggs led a safety inspection of three port terminals in Colombo in June.  The inspection team visited the East Container Terminal, South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) and Colombo International Container Terminal (CITC)

“All three terminals were very opening and welcoming and gave us a presentation of the health and safety training and policies at their terminals, as well as a guided tour around their facilities,."

“We observed several good practices at each of the terminals, and several areas of concern that needed improvement.

“Some of the improvements can be implemented quite easily with little cost, and others would involve major changes in safety policy and procedures.

“We were encouraged to see that work on some of those major changes has already commenced.”

Steve Biggs said changes could also be made to ensure workers were directly involved in safety decisions.

“After speaking with terminal safety managers, we identified a lack of worker representation on the health and safety committees in the terminals.

“We also spoke with some port workers outside of the terminals who expressed serious concerns to us regarding a lack of rest and hygiene facilities, and worker fatigue.

“We also identified a lack of collaboration between terminal operators on safety issues - something which could be overcome by the establishment of a port-wide safety committee.”

Steve Biggs said a specialist health and safety team from ITF would return to Colombo in October to conduct a ‘Train the Trainer’ program to help improve the standard of safety training at Sri Lankan ports.

ENDS

Media Contact: Stewart Prins | Prins_Stewart@itf.org.uk 

About the ITF: The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve workers’ lives, connecting more than 760 affiliated trade unions from over 150 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for workers’ globally. We are the voice for more than 16.6 million transport workers across the world.