A young New Zealand docker died on duty, after his straddle crane overturned at Ports of Auckland in the early morning hours of 27 August. With respect to the tragedy, the International Transport Worker’s Federation (ITF) reiterated that ports are among the most dangerous workplaces in the world.
According to data provided by local media, the ill-fated man suffered critical injuries when the straddle carrier he was operating overturned at about 3.45am. The man was transferred to Auckland City Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries on 3 September.
Another dock worker, has been killed at work. This is fast becoming a global epidemic. We know that ports are among the most dangerous workplaces in the world but every workplace death is preventable. The death of this young worker again reinforces our determination to hold governments, employers and regulators to account and to continue calling on them to work with unions to eliminate health and safety risks,
…stated Paddy Crumlin, ITF Dockers’ Section Chair and National Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia.
This death comes after calls from MUNZ to Maritime New Zealand for enforceable regulations and improved safety standards on the New Zealand waterfront, following three deaths in the country through 2017.
On his turn, Joe Fleetwood, General Secretary of MUNZ, noted that this tragic death indicates once again the urgent need for enforceable regulations together with mandatory standards of work practices across the New Zealand waterfront.
If the government, port companies and stevedoring employers are serious about preventing deaths on the waterfront they must commit to reform the current lack of enforceable regulations…We again call on the government, together with the Ports of Auckland and other employers, to get moving on it immediately before we witness another preventable death.
