13 October, 2015The shipbreaking workers union at the Alang shipyards wrote to the Indian Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping to demand the country’s ratification of the international standard for health and safety in the industry, the Hong Kong Convention.
The Alang Sosiya Ship Recycling & General Workers Association, ASSRGWA, is the shipbreaking workers’ union at the biggest shipbreaking yard in the world, Alang, West India.
The letter states:
“It is only a dream for most workers (in the industry) to live to the age of 60… therefore the ASSRGWA demands the Indian Government to be part of an effective solution to the problem of unsafe and unsustainable shipbreaking, and urgently ratify the Hong Kong Convention.”
Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL Director for the Shipbuilding and Shipbreaking industries says:
“The network of shipbuilding and shipbreaking trade unions is taking action to make the Hong Kong Convention a reality. To come into force we need 12 more government ratifications from countries with a major shipping industry. Momentum is growing in this campaign and we will keep pushing until the industry is safe.”
Union Secretary V. V. Rane stated:
“We will be taking up this issue very strongly during the campaign of precarious work on 7 October 2015 in Mumbai and Alang.”
See the actions of the campaign here.