Prioritise workers' rights for sustainable ship-breaking industry: Stakeholders

The meeting, held at a hotel in Chattogram this morning, was organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies (BILS) and brought together industry stakeholders to discuss workers’ rights and safety. Photo: Courtesy

Workers' rights must be prioritised to achieve a sustainable future for the country's ship-breaking sector, and for its transformation into a green model, stakeholders and industry experts have said.

Addressing workers' rights is not only a legal obligation but also a moral imperative, they said at a view-exchange meeting on rights, safety, and challenges in the shipbreaking industry held at a hotel in Chattogram today, organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies and chaired by the Shipbreaking Workers' Trade Union Forum Convener Tapan Dutta.

At the meeting, ensuring minimum wages, safe workplaces, and healthy living conditions for workers were identified as fundamental requirements for transforming the ship-breaking industry into an environmentally sustainable sector.

At present, the government earns annual revenue of Tk1,200-1,400 crore from the ship-breaking industry. If at least 10% of the revenue was allocated to address workers' welfare, many of the existing issues could be resolved, proposed the participants.

They said it is mandated by labour laws and the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that workers are provided with appointment letters and service books. "Unfortunately, workers in the ship-breaking industry are often denied these rights. Instead, companies recruit workers through contractors, leaving them without proper documentation, fair wages, or essential benefits such as accommodation, healthcare services, paid weekends, bonuses, and insurance."

Also, the Ship Recycling Board, which was established to regulate and formalise the ship-breaking industry, needs to be made fully operational, they stressed.

In his keynote presentation, Fazlul Kabir Mintoo, coordinator of the BILS-DTDA Project's OSH Centre and member secretary of Shipbreaking Workers' Trade Union Forum, underscored the need for collaboration among industry owners, the government, and labour organisations to ensure workers' welfare.

Social security measures for workers, including gratuity, pensions, welfare funds, provident funds, and insurance are essential, he said.

He also highlighted the importance of ensuring education, healthcare, and housing facilities among workers' families, as well as creating alternative employment opportunities for workers who lose their jobs due to contractual appointments.