KARACHI: The National Trade Union Federation on Tuesday demanded resumption of work at the Gadani ship-breaking yard.

Speaking at a press conference at the Lasbela Press Club, Hub, NTUF deputy general secretary Nasir Mansoor and the president of its Gadani chapter, Bashir Mehmoodani, spoke about the ongoing “difficulties faced by the daily-wage earners”.

Activities at the ship-breaking yard were suspended by Lasbela deputy commissioner under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code after the death of five workers in a fire that erupted in an LPG tanker, Chaumadra, on Jan 9.

Soon after the incident, labour unions demanded that the authorities provide facilities for the health and safety of labourers at the Gadani ship-breaking yard but disagreed on its closure, with one union insisting that the closure would worsen the living conditions of wage earners.

Thirty-two labourers were killed while working at the Gadani ship-breaking yard in the past three months, said Mr Mansoor of the NTUF. Of the 27 families affected in the Nov 1 incident, compensation was given to 21 of them, he added.

He said the reason labour unions insisted upon compensating the victims’ families was because of a “lack of implementation of law”.

Mr Mehmoodani spoke about drafting of the recent ship-breaking code by labour unions, which he said was complete and would be presented to the provincial government soon.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2017