From Hugh Robertson, Trades Union Congress
Duncan Graham-Rowe’s excellent and timely article on the problems created by ship-breaking in parts of Asia (22 July, p 39) underlines the need for strong international regulation of the industry.
However, the article only tells half of the tale. While the environmental toll is quite appalling, so is the human cost. Many tens of thousands of migrant labourers are employed breaking up ships in the Indian subcontinent. Usually paid little more than a dollar a day, they work in highly toxic and dangerous conditions with no or little protection.
A recent report by a number of organisations, including Greenpeace, showed that 372 workers have died at the Alang shipyard in Gujarat, India, over the past 25 years. A further 180 deaths have occurred in Bangladesh in the past 11 years. These figures are only the tip of the iceberg, however: many thousands more will die from cancers and other diseases caused by exposure to the huge quantities of asbestos, heavy metals and other toxic substances found in these ships.
The international community has a duty to stop this trade in death immediately and ensure that this work is done in an environment that is safe, for both the workforce and the planet.
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London, UK
