Brussels, 17 November 2015 – The Occupational Safety, Health and
Environment Foundation (OSHE) released yesterday a Bengali-language short
documentary aimed at raising awareness about the labour rights and
environmental problems of shipbreaking in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The
realization of the video, which is part of a national campaign launched by the
Platform’s Bangladesh members OSHE, BELA, BILS and YPSA, was supported by the
Platform.
The documentary shows that in the last ten years more than 200 accidents
occurred at the shipbreaking yards, leading to over 140 deaths. In 2015 alone,
16 deaths and 17 serious injuries caused by the industry based in Chittagong
have been recorded. Common accidents include explosions, falls from heights and
crushing from falling steel plates. Statistically, accidents at the Bangladeshi
ship breaking yards takes at least 20 lives per year. Many more workers die
unrecorded due to diseases caused by exposure to toxic fumes and asbestos.
Despite strong international criticism of shipbreaking conditions in Bangladesh
and also condemnation by the national courts, safety standards for workers, as
well as pollution controls, have not undergone necessary improvement.
Child labor is still common practice in Bangladeshi ship dismantling
facilities. This is clearly not allowed according to both national and
international rules meant to protect particularly vulnerable groups. On the one
hand, the legal framework is hardly followed by yard owners, who profit on
circumvention of the law; on the other hand, poor enforcement by the
authorities is another major issue that has to be tackled as a matter of
urgency.
Due to the increased awareness of this situation, more and more shipping
companies avoid selling their end-of-life vessels to the muddy beaches of
Chittagong. OSHE, BELA, BILS and YPSA will continue to support the empowerment
of workers to defend their rights.
Video link:
https://youtu.be/Zn-eo2sfLvg
Source: NGO Shipbreaking platform.
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