Ensuring better working conditions in ship breaking yards

Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
Historically the ordinary working masses were subject to the ruthless process of exploitation. The process started in the twilight of primitive civilization. Slavery, advocated by Aristotle as an institution, emerged rather as a highly exploitative mechanism torturing the workers. Class conflict was in an embryonic stage with the advent of slavery as a pervasive phenomenon.
Slaves, though not organized with any ambition and awareness, were compelled to become extremely agitated as they suffered manifold torture and persecution at the hands of their cruel masters. This was an expression of anguish over inhuman torture. This otherwise was not an organized movement for economic emancipation and revolutionary changeover. The slaves lacked consciousness about class struggle. Nevertheless sporadic movement weakened power base of the power as exploiters. In the long run slavery was replaced by a new form of exploitation like feudalism ruling the roost in Europe and America.
During the heydays of feudalism the landed oligarchs relishing an orientation to family aristocracy exploited the mass of peasants. The peasants were subservient to whim of highly capricious feudal based local state in the perpheries.The constellations of exploitative structure-the king or emperor at the center, landlords and priests-came to coalesce to torment the peasants. The oppressed peasants were smoldering to take fire to flush out the instruments of exploitation.
Feudalism was about to evaporate as the peasants migrated to industrial and pre-industrial towns in search of employment in mills and factories. The emerging class of industrialists deprived the workers of their due labour values taking advantage of their plight and vulnerability. The worked 18 hours earning a meager wage much less than enough to make both ends meet. They felt highly outrageous. In 1834 labour unrest took place in a bread factory in New York. The workers observed strikes as a protest against unfair wage. They were beginning to integrate into a class for itself from class in itself posing a formidable threat to mill owners. Instead of cracking down upon the employers they destroyed industrial equipments and machineries. As a result most industries were declared lay off. Later on they came to realize that the approach was wrong without a sense of direction. They fought against machine which was the source of employment. Led by a new realization they got united against mill owners and their cohorts. In Great Britain, France, Germany and other west European countries transport labour, printing press labour, mine labour dock labour and garment workers observed strike in 1870.
1886 was a turning point in the history struggle against labour exploitation. . It was the saga of movement for fair field and congenial work conditions. In May, 1886 the industrial workers observed strike in Chicago demanding 8 hour work time. The police fired upon processions killing many among the
Processionists of the front-line organizer was hanged to death. The episode centering on the uprisings stirred the whole world to its depth. In due respect to the martyrs of Chicago movement the second international labour conference at Paris in 14 July 1889 decided to declare 1st May as international solidarity and rights day.
We pay homage to those workers but for whose supreme sacrifice it would have been impossible to bring labour rights under legal institutional framework, policy-fold in other words. Now several laws are there to protect the rights of the workers. Factory law, 1985 industrial relations laws 1969, workers’ compensation act 1923, the minimum wage ordinance 1961, the fatal accident act 1938, dock Workers act, 1924
Ship breaking workers is a reference point. They are treated as slaves without any legal contract. They work without protective equipments for a bare survival earning far below market rate. There is perhaps no public policy to protect the interest of ship breaking workers. If not eliminated torture inside ship breaking cannot be reduced without institutionalization through public policy.
A celebrated NGO like YAPSA has been endeavoring through project intervention to address the issue like ship breaking labour. The objective is to advocate a sustainable public policy to protect the interests of ship breaking workers.
The main focus on the workers in shipbreaking industries – governance issue, labour conditions, human rights, living conditions, health, environment and sanitation etc. -is a novel feature of human development project. YPSA is deeply immersed in an endless quest for the roots of humanitarian crises continuously exploring facts about the corpus of geo-physical, and socio-economic formation in a seemingly unknown spot with unparalled thoroughness.
YPSA continues to investigate the predicaments of the most vulnerable group like shipbreaking labourers to evolve suitable means to preserve their right.
The utmost neglect which the toiling mass of workers suffer in an overtly in congenial environment has led to recent realization of development practioners to go deepest into the situation obtaining in this business sector that is completely out of control with lots of menacing setbacks. YPSA is taking the lead in the campaign and advocacy for policy making for this business sector orchestrating the rights of the workers and other stakeholders to create a healthy environment. A longitudinal project intervention in this otherwise neglected field with periodic report of progression would fetch a lot in bringing about affirmative changes in the life style and socio-economic conditions of the primary stakeholders as well as community life in the Sitakunda seashore as a whole.
The workers, mostly belonging to the age group of 17-37 years, are engaged in physical lobour without proper safety measures. There is a high risk factor in the way the ships are scrapped. The majority among workers remains barefooted while working. So there is no disagreement that ship-braking is a high risk industry. The workers work in risky conditions having no safety equipment facilities and financial security. Over the last twenty years more than 400 workers have been killed and 6000 seriously injured according to the Bangladeshi media. The explosion of the Iranian tanker TT Dena on 31may 2000 alone is said to have caused 50deaths. To this toll must be added thousand of cases of irreversible diseases which have occurred and will occur in future due to the toxic materials that are handled and inhaled without minimum precautions or protective cares.
Shipbreaking poses serious threat to environment. In terms of structural realities, power relations and economic matter project environment is unfriendly to the working class. Of course many points of the project environment are positively impacted by the NGO intervention that happens positively to improve policy environment in all matters. YPSA represents an instructive example.
Most often that not the shipbreaking industry hits headlines in local dailies. Despite media’s allegation, it is thriving and economic benefits of shipbreaking enterprises cannot be underestimated.
The shipbreaking yards have not established any routines regarding the handling of dangerous substances.
The exposures to chemicals represent a considerate health risk for the workers.
The workers wear little or no protective equipment against physical injuries.
The worker’s salaries and contacts do not fulfill the minimum requirements for a decent life.
The surrounding settlements suffer from the pollution caused by the activity and from the loss of land areas.
In fact we want to end exploitation of the workers by the owners and ensure better working conditions. Ship breaking workers deserve fair deal.

(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, professor, department of Public administration, Chittagong University)