Lack of safety measures caused Gadani tragedy: NTUF

A total absence of safety measures at the ship-breaking site caused the oil tanker inferno at the Gadani ship-breaking yard on Tuesday, and this was the commonality between the Ali Enterprises factory tragedy of five years ago in Baldia Town and the Gadani incident.

This observation was made by Nasir Mansoor, deputy-general secretary of the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), while addressing the media at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday afternoon. 

He said the ship purchased from Japan had run its operational life two years ago. 

As a rule, he said, oil tankers had to be cleaned four to five days before the commencement of the breaking process.

However, the owners did not comply with the rule because it would have cost them considerably more, which they wanted to avoid at any cost.

According to Mansoor, around 250 workers were recruited overnight and hurriedly sent aboard the ship to start off the breaking process. A spark from the welding gun, he said, made its way to where there were oil traces and that set off the giant conflagration.

He said labour unions and workers’ groups had been clamouring all along for taking safety measures, but it was just like pouring water over a duck’s back. The authorities concerned just did not heed these calls.

“Police and the bureaucracy have a nexus with the capitalists and that’s how the latter evade their duties towards the toiling labourers,” Mansoor said.

He said there were no hospital and clean drinking water for workers. There was only one ambulance, which was being actually used for transporting the officials’ children to and from school, he said. 

The contractors, he said, were reaping a bonanza from the ambulance service. Conducting the press conference, Mansoor further said: “According to information, there are still over 150 persons trapped in the flaming wreckage and there has been no attempt to rescue them. The fire is still raging.” 

Body parts, he said, were scattered over a radius of three kilometres in the sea. He said no rescue operations had begun despite the fact that Faisal Edhi’s workers had most painstakingly devised a makeshift access across the sea to the flaming wreckage, but fire brigade personnel were refusing to make use of that. 

He said dead bodies were floating all over the place. Twenty-one dead bodies, he said, had been salvaged and the 70 rescued were in a critical state in hospital.

“Ship-breaking is the most neglected industry despite the fact that around two million workers depend for their livelihood on it as they are employed in trades derived from this industry,” Mansoor said.

He was really bitter about the stance of the political parties and workers, and lamented that despite their loud professions about their concern for the people’s welfare, they were totally silent on such occurrences. “No politician or political party worker has bothered to come and enquire after the condition of the workers.”

Mansoor said that ironically enough, a day before the incident, they had held a rally in front of the press club to press for the authorities to adopt safety measures. “Safety is a right and not a privilege,” he asserted.

“We demand that a murder case be registered right away against the Ship Breakers’ Association,” he said. 

He held the Sind Labour Department directly responsible for the tragedy because, he said, there never had been a labour inspection. He also held the EOBI, the provincial environmental authority and the ports and shipping department responsible.

He demanded compensation of Rs3 million each for the heirs of the deceased and Rs500,000 for the next-of-kin of the injured. He announced three days of mourning in honour of the victims.

Saeeda Khatoon, mother of a victim of the Baldia garments factory fire, was also presented and it was heart-rending to hear her narrate her ordeal of losing a son in such a ghastly incident.

She implored the authorities to pay compensation to the heirs of the deceased speedily and punish the culprits whoever they may be expeditiously.