Improving Working & Living Conditions on Board Peter Hurst - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

IMPROVING SAFETY & HEALTH ON BOARD FISHING VESSELS  Global Safety & Health Issues in Fishing  Improving Working & Living Conditions on Board  Peter Hurst  Health & Safety Specialist  Ex Health and Safety Labour Inspector (UK)  Ex ILO hazardous child labour specialist 1

IMPROVING SAFETY & HEALTH ON BOARD FISHING VESSELS  Health & safety problems in fishing on board vessels  Workplace – fishing vessel  Health & safety is about finding SOLUTIONS – improving RISK MANAGEMENT  Saving lives & limbs  Preventing injuries/illness  Health promotion – diet  Safety & health in rural, agricultural communities  Food security 2

GLOBAL SAFETY & HEALTH ISSUES IN FISHING  Commercial fishing vessels  Smaller artisanal fishing vessels  Migrant labour  Child labour  Women involved in fish processing  Vulnerable groups Asian Regional Seminar on Work in FIshing Convention 3

Global Safety and Health Issues in Fishing  Globally, sea fishing is one of the FOUR most dangerous occupations  Canada, USA – fatal accident rates are not falling  UK fishers: 1 in 20 chance of being killed on the job during the course of their working lives  “All body parts ache” – Indonesian fisher 4

SAFETY & HEALTH ON BOARD FISHING VESSELS  ILO C 188, Article 31. Governments: adopt laws, regulations, other measures on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)  duties of owners, skippers, fishers  training  accident reporting  joint OSH committees 5

SAFETY& HEALTH ON BOARD  Article 32: Duties of vessel owners  Establish on board safety & health procedures  Guidance, training material, information  Risk evaluation/assessme nt  Safety training for crew 6

EXTERNAL FACTORS  Bad weather – rough seas, fog etc.  Extreme temperatures  Exposure to sun  Weather forecasting  Other vessels - collisions 7

DROWNING  MAIN cause of fatalities in fishing worldwide  Falling into the water  Being swept overboard  Vessel sinking or capsizing  Lack of safety equipment – no safety line in this photo 8

DROWNING  Swimming and diving  Lack of emergency rescue procedures 9

PHYSICAL, HEAVY, STRENUOUS WORK  Heavy & awkward loads – handling nets, unloading fish etc.  Deck in constant motion, wet, slippery  Musculoskeletal injuries to muscles, joints, tendons, nerves, bones  Risk of permanent injury 10

SLIPS, TRIPS & FALLS  Crowded decks – ropes, cables, nets  Decks wet, slippery, constant motion  Lighting & visibility  Falls into open fish holds, from ladders, from masts, gantries 11

MACHINERY SAFETY Machinery Safety  Winches, hoists etc.  No guards  No emergency stop buttons  Operator should guide the rope with stick not with his hand 12

ACCOMMODATION, FOOD & WATER  Accommodation is critical but often poor  Cramped conditions  Overseas trawlers at sea for long periods  Lack of clean drinking water, washing facilities, and toilets  Contagious disease risks  Lack of facilities for food preparation, food storage 13

LIGHTING & VISIBILTY  Internal lighting for fishing work is often not adequate  Increased risk of accidents  Purse seine boats fish at night 14

HOURS OF REST & FATIGUE  Fatigue (extreme tiredness) - ill health, increased accident risk  Skippers determine hours of work. Taking into account fatigue etc.  Minimum hours of rest for 3 days+ at sea =  10 hours in any 24 hours  77 hours in any 7 days  Article 14 15

FIRST AID & MEDICAL CARE  At least one fisher on board who is trained in first aid, C 188, Art 29  Fishing vessels should carry appropriate medical equipment and supplies  With guidance and instructions in languages used on fishing vessels  Medical advice via radio or satellite transmissions 16

DISEASES  Skin diseases  Between knife cuts and crushed fingers, skin infections are almost inevitable  Occupational asthma fro breathing in fish protein from fish and shellfish. Fish processing – women & child workers  Communicable diseases – e.g. tuberculosis 17

SAFETY EQUIPMENT  Fishing vessels often have no safety equipment or it is poor  C 188 - Every fisher on board is provided with appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment  C188, Article 32 18

Minimum Age – (Hazardous) Child Labour  ILO C 188, Article 9  16 years (A.9(1))  Some exceptions to allow children of 15 to work  Adolescents  Growth and development – physical, biological, mental and emotional  Bodies, minds and personalities developing  Factor in psychosocial risks – stress, violence etc. 19

WORKPLACE RISK EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT  Risk Assessment & Management, combined with training, and on board instruction  Employers – vessel owners and skippers  Are responsible for carrying out the workplace risk assessment and implementing any health and safety improvements identified in it 20

RISK ASSESSMENT  How to involve the CREW who may be Migrant workers – different languages  Workers know the dangers; have ideas on how to put things right, involved in making the health and safety improvements  On shore, joint health and safety committees 21

INSPECTIONS OF WORKING & LIVING CONDITIONS ON BOARD  Often a “grey area” (C 188, Article 42).  Government function  Overlapping jurisdictions – labour inspectorates, maritime, fishing, navy  Few “inspections” carried out on board vessels  Certificate of inspection of working & living conditions – + 24 metres,+ 200km, + 3 days. C 188, Article 41 22

FISHING ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANISATIONS  Key role in improving working & living conditions on board  Vessel owners & skippers - how to help them make health and safety improvements?  How to strengthen cooperation/ coordination between fishing employers and their organisations in the ASEAN region? 23

WORKERS ORGANISATIONS IN FISHING  How to strengthen the role of trade unions in improving working and living conditions on board?  ITF/IUF – global trade union federations  From Catcher to Counter  Global programme to organise workers in the fishing industry  ASEAN region? 24

IMPROVING WORKING & LIVING CONDITIONS SAFETY & HEALTH FIRST  Slogan on a deep sea trawler, Sirichai Reefer  Aim is that all boats in the ASEAN fishing fleets will be able to carry a new slogan  SAFETY & HEALTH FIRST for the FISHERS who provide our food 25