Labour leaders hail Pakistan ratifying Hong Kong shipbreaking convention

Labour leaders and rights activists on Saturday expressed satisfaction at Pakistan ratifying of the Hong Kong convention for shipbreaking, saying that it will not only bring a change in the lives of shipbreaking workers but also ensure a boom in the Pakistani economy by spurring the shipbreaking industry.

In a seminar organised by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), various labour leaders, rights activists and intellectuals participated. They included Muhammad Rafiq Baloch, Nasir Mansoor, Habibuddin Junaidi, Dr Asghar Ali Dashti, Zehra Khan, Fatima Majeed, Bashir Mehmoodani and Washdil Baloch.

They said ships at the end of their useful life were sold for recycling and brought to shipbreaking yards for their dismantling but this dismantling process was highly dangerous for the health and safety of shipbreaking workers on the one hand and for environment on the other hand. The event was told that the junk ships contained hazardous materials like asbestos and sludge and it had been estimated that in the next 10 years, some 15,000 vessels would be scrapped, doubling their numbers compared to the previous 10 years.

It was said that a large number of these dying ships would reach the third largest shipbreaking yard of the world in Gadani in Balochistan about 40 kilometres northwest of Karachi.

The shipbreaking yard in Gadani had 132 shipbreaking plots and it was notorious for fires, explosions and other mishaps due to lack of safety measures. In November 2016, at least 28 workers died and more than two dozen others were injured in a blast in a tanker being dismantled there. The event was told that the NTUF had long demanded that the government adopt laws to improve safety in Pakistan’s shipbreaking industry. After the November 2016 tragedy, a draft law was also prepared in this regard and due to the heroic struggle of Pakistani workers and their organisations, Pakistan became the 23rd country to ratify the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.