16 April 2014 – The
upcoming May edition of National Geographic Magazine features a harrowing
account of the shipbreaking crisis in the yards of Chittagong, Bangladesh. The
pictures and the video posted on the magazine’s website clearly show that
children still work in the yards despite the fact that hazardous child labour
is illegal in Bangladesh. According to the country’s Labour Act 2006, it is
prohibited to employ any person under the age of 18 in hazardous industries.
The National Geographic article also shows that hazardous substances are
released and dumped every day regardless of the 2009 High Court ruling
prohibiting the import of end-of-life vessels containing hazardous wastes.
Moreover, the working conditions are still dangerous and deadly: the pictures
show workers walking barefoot with no protection equipment.
The NGO Shipbreaking
Platform reported that at least 20 shipbreaking workers died in the yards in
2013, with countless others going unreported as there is no official
documentation of accidents in the yards. Thousands of workers have been injured
in the yards or poisoned by exposure to toxic materials retrieved from the
end-of-life ships, such as asbestos. Representatives of the industry deny the
number of fatal accidents and claim that child labour has been banned from the
yards – it has, but only on sign boards outside the yards which read “Safety
first” and “No child labour”.
The National Geographic
article, written by Peter Gwin is available online [1] and features pictures
taken by Mike Hettwer [2]. The reporters interviewed Muhammed Ali Shahin, the
NGO Shipbreaking Platform’s project coordinator in Bangladesh [3].
CONTACT
Patrizia Heidegger
Executive Director
NGO Shipbreaking
Platform
+32 (0) 2 6094 419
Source:
NGO Shipbreaking Platform. 16 April 2014
http://www.shipbreakingplatform.org/platform-news-national-geographic-magazine-reveals-child-labour-toxic-waste-dumping-in-bangladesh-shipbreaking-yards/
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