Trade unions in Bangladesh and the Platform’s member Bangladesh Institute for Labour Studies (BILS), are reported as concerned regarding the PHP Family (Peace Happiness and Prosperity) shipbreaking yard receiving Statement of Compliance with the Hong Kong Convention.
Namely, the two parties said that they are concerned that such a labelling sets a dangerous precedent for the further green-washing of the Chittagong beaching yards.
“Trade unions made a formal request to represent the workers at the PHP yard, but the management has rejected the workers’ right to freedom of association, and employees that have strongly engaged in demanding respect of workers’ rights have even been fired. Any worker association or NGO which does not praise PHP is received with hostility and is not even allowed to visit the yard. As reported yesterday by the Platform, accidents at thePHP shipbreaking yard continue to happen,” NGO Shipbreaking platform said.
Continuing the platform noted that, despite some investments in the PHP yard to concrete parts of the upper beach, there are deficiencies in infrastructure for the containment of toxics renders.
The Chittagong area is heavily polluted, and there is no means for any beaching yard to handle hazardous waste in a safe and environmentally sound manner.
The Hong Kong Convention’s ship recycling requirements stop at the gate of the yard, thus Bangladesh does not have a waste treatment facility for general waste.
“That a beaching yard in Chittagong is able to comply with the Hong Kong Convention tells us a lot about the extremely low standard set by the International Maritime Organisation. Any ship owner looking for a safe and clean location for the recycling of their ship will be wise to disregard the very misleading Statements of Compliance with the Hong Kong Convention, and instead consult the upcoming EU List of approved ship recycling facilities”, she adds, Ingvild Jenssen, Director and Founder of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, concluded.