One
worker related: “Safety officers are hardly ever around to
actually point out unsafe practices and see whether safety rules
are followed.
“Many remain in an office.”
The loading of dangerous cargo was of major concern to workers.
They told Mirror that they are given dusk masks to wear to handle
containers that contain sulphuric acid.
“We still feel nauseous; a dusk mask is not what is required
for handling of such cargo,” one worker insisted.
“More safety equipment is required.
“And the safety room to assemble in case of an ammonia spill
is some 20 minutes away from Berth Five, where ammonia is loaded.
“When we get a slight scent of ammonia (regularly) we have
to go to the safety room.
“But, what will happen if there is a big leak?
“Ammonia can cause one’s lungs to collapse almost instantly;
you can imagine what will happen with us before we reach the safety
room.”
Mirror was told there were plans to move the safety room some months
ago.
“We did not hear anything further,” the worker said.
Disturbed workers also complained that there is nothing in place
to act quickly to assist injured workers when there is an accident.
Another worker explained to Mirror: “Most times it is the
colleagues of the injured worker, who rush to try and see what could
be done.
“There is one ambulance to service the company and it normally
takes a long time to get to the scene of an incident.
“Sometimes the foreman does not have a radio to make contact;
so the process of getting help takes a longer period.”
The Plipdeco workers believe the injury to fellow employee Stefan
Reid and many others would have been avoided if the company had
spent time servicing their cranes and other equipment.
A third worker said: “The cranes are old and are not serviced.
“These cranes work 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
“The cranes are only repaired when there is a break-down.”
Reid, a terminal worker, was stuck last March 12 by the spreader
bar of a crane that malfunctioned.
He suffered five broken ribs, a broken collar bone and a collapsed
right lung.
One week later, Curtis Jules and Simon Page were injured when the
chain hooked to a crane loaded with steel burst.
The steel fell into a vessel and injured the workers.
Jules remains warded at the Augustus Long Hospital in Point-a-Pierre. |
