An Indonesian worker died on the job at Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), part of Hutchison Ports, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) informed.
International media report that the body of the man was found floating at the port of Jakarta, after he fell overboard from a vessel during stevedoring operations.
This accident comes in addition to the deaths of two workers within two months and four within the past 15 months at the Hutchison’s terminal, according to Serikat Pekerja Jakarta International Container Terminal (SPJICT) chair, Nova Hakim.
As a result, the ITF and SPJICT are calling on the company to conduct an official inquiry into the death and the circumstance surrounding how this worker fell overboard, as the incident raises serious questions about Hutchison’s safety procedures. Some areas of concern also regard if the vessel was inspected and found in compliance with international and class standards.
“Falls from height – and falls overboard – are 100% preventable. On a modern vessel, there is no reason why a worker should die from a fall from height with proper inspections, proper management of the work environment, proper equipment and engineering controls. When a person falls overboard, management are often quick to blame the worker. We need to dig deeper to find the root causes of this horrible tragedy,” said ITF President Paddy Crumlin.
