By Jite Eriabie
Another worker has died in an accident at the Hutchison terminal in Jakarta, marking the fourth fatality in just the past 15 months at the terminal, the International Transport Workers’ Federation has reported.
The incident is the latest to underscore what the ITF described as an “atrocious” safety record at the Hutchison terminal.
“We are shocked and alarmed by the continuing carnage at the Hutchison’s terminal in Jakarta. Two workers have died within two months, and four within the past 15 months. This is an atrocious record that speaks for itself,” said Nova Hakim, chair of the Serikat Pekerja Jakarta International Container Terminal (SPJICT).
While details of the accident are unclear, the ITF said the worker died as the result of a fall.
The ITF and SPJICT are calling on the company to conduct an official inquiry into the death and the circumstance “surrounding how the worker fell overboard,” the ITF said in a statement.
“Hutchison needs to answer serious questions,” commented ITF president, Paddy Crumlin. “Was this man provided with adequate fall protection? Was the outboard fencing on this vessel complete and compliant 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,” Crumlin said.
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