On International Workers’ Memorial Day, April 28, the IUF-affiliated Fishworkers Solidarity, a member organization of SENTRO, remembered the commercial tuna fishing vessel workers who died or who were “lost” at sea and remain unaccounted for.
Among those remembered on April 28, were workers on tuna fishing vessels who died at sea but whose death was not considered a workplace death. This includes Perfect Aldo who died onboard on January 10, 2020, Arnel Abada who died at sea from pneumonia on June 12, 2021, and Noneto Romero who died onboard from cardiac arrest on November 5, 2022.
Perfect Aldo died onboard the tuna fishing vessel on January 10, 2020
Tuna fishworker, Arnel Abada, died at sea from pneumonia on June 12, 2021
Also remembered are those that the commercial tuna industry and authorities simply declare as “missing” at sea. This includes Gerir Rulete, missing since September 3, 2014. After a decade his family still cannot find peace and his death has not been recognized as work-related.
Tuna fishworker Gerir Rulete, “missing” since September 3, 2014
Warren Poncardas has been “missing” since August 21, 2003.┬а After 21 years his family too cannot find peace. This is another death while working that is not officially work-related.
The families of Roger Maglasang, Carlos Dejillo, Marvin Villaroya, Ricky Longgarit, and Roy Maglasang were all told that their husbands, fathers, brothers were missing at sea on August 24, 2003. Twenty-one years later, they remain unable to bury their loved ones; unable to declare them dead. As a result, their families are denied the certainty – the truth – that they died while working at sea. They are also denied the insurance they are entitled to for the work-related deaths of their loved ones.
Along with Gerir Rulete and Warren Poncardas, Roger Maglasang, Carlos Dejillo, Marvin Villaroya, Ricky Longgarit, and Roy Maglasangare are among the Unknown Workers killed and forgotten by an irresponsible and reckless commercial tuna industry.
On April 28, Fishworkers Solidarity called for urgent action by the government, employers and the commercial fishing industry to take responsibility for the health and safety of fishworkers throughout the tuna industry and to save lives.
The full text of the statement is below:
Fishworkers’ Solidarity Stands United on International Workers’ Memorial Day: Remember the Dead, Fight for the Living
International Workers’ Memorial Day, 28 April 2024┬а
Fishworkers’ Solidarity reaffirms its commitment to honoring the memories of those who have lost their lives in the pursuit of their livelihoods, while steadfastly advocating for the safety and well-being of all workers in the fishing industry.
This solemn day serves as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by countless individuals who have tragically lost their lives due to occupational hazards and unsafe working conditions. From treacherous waters to inadequate safety measures, fishworkers often face perilous situations in their daily endeavors to provide sustenance for communities worldwide.
Today we remember the countless number of fishworkers who were lost out in the sea and remain тАЬmissingтАЭ. This year alone, we have identified at least 8 fishworkers who are considered тАЬmissingтАЭ, and thatтАЩs just for General Santos and the Saranggani Bay area alone. One wonders, do our government even keep track of these things?
We stand in solidarity with those who continue to endure hazardous working environments and demand accountability from stakeholders responsible for ensuring workplace safety. With the guiding principle of “Remember the Dead, Fight for the Living,” Fishworkers’ Solidarity underscores the urgent need for comprehensive reforms to prioritize the safety and rights of fishworkers everywhere.
This International Workers’ Memorial Day, Fishworkers’ Solidarity calls upon governments, employers, and industry leaders to:
Fully realize the our aspiration for тАЬresponsible fisheries and sustainable developmentтАЭ by enhancing the full participation of fishworkers in the whole decision-making process related to fishery resources.
Stop all proposals to amend the Fisheries Code and instead focus all government resources, including that of the non-government sector, on the a whole-of-government, full and effective implementation of the present provisions of the amended Fisheries Code to address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing including the full implementation of the vessel monitoring system, with data provided to local governments and enforcement agencies.
Enhance safety regulations and enforce stringent measures to prevent accidents and fatalities in the fishing industry.
Provide adequate training, resources, and protective gear to empower fishworkers to carry out their duties safely.
Foster collaborative initiatives between stakeholders to address systemic issues and promote a culture of safety and respect within the industry.
Recognize the invaluable contributions of fishworkers to global food security and uphold their fundamental rights to fair wages, decent working conditions, and social protection.
Together, let us honor the memory of those we have lost by advocating for meaningful change and ensuring that no worker faces unnecessary risks in the pursuit of their livelihood.
Fishworkers’ Solidarity remains unwavering in our commitment to safeguarding the lives and dignity of all fishworkers, today and always.
Through collective action and advocacy efforts, we strive to address the challenges facing fishworkers and promote sustainable practices in the fishing industry. Join us in our mission to create a safer and more equitable future for all fishworkers.
On April 28, the IUF Food and Beverage Workers Council-Bangladesh, Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Workers Federation and National Women Farmers & Workers Association held a workersтАЩ rally and demonstration in Dhaka to remember those who suffered from work-related deaths, injury and illness, including the unreported deaths of the unknown workers. The unions called for action to ensure the fundamental right to health and safety is fully realized for all food, farm and agricultural workers in both the formal and informal sectors.
Below is the full text of the press release:
Observance of International Workers’ Memorial Day-2024
One minuteтАЩs silence in memory of workers killed at work.
“International Workers’ Memorial Day-2023тАЭ has been marked to demand comprehensive measures to protect workers ensuring their fundamental occupational health and safety rights guaranteed in ILO Convention No.155.
Today, April 28, to mark “International Workers’ Memorial Day-2024тАЭ, IUF Food and Beverage Workers Council-Bangladesh, Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Workers Federation and National Women Farmers & Workers Association jointly organized workersтАЩ rally & demonstration in front of the National Press Club, Dhaka. From the demonstration one minuteтАЩs silence was also observed in memory of the known unknown workers killed and injured at work. The rally called for comprehensive action to ensure workersтАЩ fundamental right to health and safety guaranteed by ILO Convention 155 for the protection of workers that includes setting up tripartite monitoring committee, real risk management with active participation of workers representation, enacting ILO Convention 155 implementation law etc.
In the rally, the workers leaders from various unions complained that the employersтАЩ priority is making more profit from a hazardous unsafe work than on saving lives at work. Work-related injuries, illness, disease and deaths grows as most workplaces continue to have unsafe and dangerous environments, increase precarious work arrangement and have no proper representation of workers. Speakers also said that apart from industrial workers, millions of agricultural workers, self-employed workers and small and marginal farmers are facing deadly health risks due to extreme weather caused by climate change. Work-related deaths, injury or illness of these great number of unrecognized workforces in informal economy in most cases remain hidden and are not known.
ILO C.155 recognized that safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental right of workers and it is the employer’s obligation to ensure a safe workplace whereas government’s responsibility is to monitor whether the employer has ensured safety for all workers. From the rally it is reaffirmed to continue calling for an end to the killing of workers at workplaces and demanding strict punishment for employers who fail to provide a safe working environment for workers.
Among others President of NEU Md. Abdul Mannan, IUF Asia Pacific National officer Nasrin Sultana, Prominent labour leader Abul Hossain, General Secretary of BAFLF Golam Sorowor, President of NEFA Leela Khanom, President of PvM EU Md. Kamrul Hasan, General Secretary of Coca-Cola Employees Union Md. Mokhleshur Rahman Khokan, Joint General Secretary of SMC EL Union Md. Al Amin Imran, President of BRRI Sramik Samiti, Md. Rahim Uddin spoke at the rally.
Dalam laporan ILO pada bulan November tahun 2023, tentang Seruan untuk Lingkungan Pekerjaan yang Lebih Aman dan Sehat, ILO mengamati bahwa:
Menurut perkiraan terbaru yang dikembangkan oleh ILO dan mencakup tahun 2019, lebih dari 395 juta pekerja di seluruh dunia mengalami cedera kerja yang tidak fatal. Selain itu, sekitar 2,93 juta pekerja meninggal akibat faktor yang berkaitan dengan pekerjaan, hal ini meningkat lebih dari 12 persen dibandingkan data pada tahun 2000.
Perkiraan ini merupakan pengingat penting bahwa pekerja terus menghadapi cedera serius, penyakit dan risiko kematian di tempat kerja. Hal ini menambah seruan mendesak untuk menerapkan langkah-langkah komprehensif untuk melindungi pekerja; memastikan bahwa hak-hak kesehatan dan keselamatan kerja dijamin dalam Konvensi ILO No. 155 diperlukan sebagai hak-hak dasar.
Jumlah keseluruhan kecelakaan kerja, penyakit tidak menular dan tidak menular, serta kematian hanya dapat diperkirakan karena data yang dikumpulkan oleh ILO sama baiknya dengan data nasional yang tersedia. Hal ini hanya akan terjadi jika mekanisme inspeksi, pelaporan dan penegakan hukum menghasilkan informasi tersebut. Untuk setiap pekerja yang meninggal karena penyakit jangka panjang yang disebabkan oleh atau diperparah oleh pekerjaan тАУ terkadang bertahun-tahun setelah pensiun тАУ kematiannya tidak dicatat sebagai kematian yang berhubungan dengan pekerjaan. Kematian dari seorang yang tak dikenal dan juga yang tidak diketahui penyebabnya, tidak tercatat. Setiap pekerja yang meninggal karena тАЬkecelakaanтАЭ industri yang tidak dilaporkan merupakan kematian lain yang tidak diketahui. Untuk setiap pekerjaan yang tidak dianggap sebagai pekerja berdasarkan definisi hukum dan tidak termasuk dalam statistik ketenagakerjaan, dia akan meninggal secara diam-diam.
Sering kali kesenjangan dalam data sub-nasional, nasional dan internasional bersifat institusional тАУ karena keterbatasan kapasitas teknis, kurangnya standarisasi, dan perbedaan besar dalam definisi hukum dan peraturan. Namun kesenjangan dalam data mengenai cedera, penyakit dan kematian terkait pekerjaan juga bersifat politis. Kurangnya sumber daya publik dan pendanaan untuk pemeriksaan pemantauan dan pelaporan yang menghasilkan data bukan disebabkan oleh kemiskinan atau keterbelakangan atau kurangnya koordinasi. Hal tersebut merupakan akibat dari keputusan-keputusan politik yang meremehkan pentingnya kehidupan pekerja, mendorong mereka ke posisi yang paling rendah dalam spektrum kebijakan dan terpinggirkan dalam anggaran nasional. Penghematan tidak hanya membahayakan nyawa pekerja, namun juga mencegah pelaporan kerusakan kesehatan dan hilangnya nyawa.
Di industri swasta тАУ termasuk tempat kerja perusahaan global тАУ тАЬmengutamakan keselamatanтАЭ dan тАЬnihil kecelakaanтАЭ mungkin tampak sebagai komitmen untuk menyelamatkan nyawa, namun dalam praktiknya telah menjadi target finansial; key performance indicator (KPI). Alih-alih memotivasi manajemen lokal untuk menjamin tempat kerja yang aman melalui bonus dan penghargaan jika berhasil memenuhi target, hal ini malah menjadi insentif keuangan untuk tidak melapor.
Pada periode ketika laporan ILO mengklaim adanya peningkatan kematian terkait pekerjaan sebesar 12% (2000-2019), kami terlibat langsung dalam lebih dari tiga lusin konflik dengan perusahaan makanan dan minuman transnasional di kawasan Asia-Pasifik yang terlibat secara sengaja berdasarkan perjanjian. -yang dilaporkan atau┬а yang tidak dilaporkan-. Penyembunyian ledakan gas, kebocoran gas amonia, kebakaran dan runtuhnya struktur fisik atau mesin secara efektif menghilangkan cedera dan kematian akibat tragedi di tempat kerja.
Dalam kegiatan usaha makanan global di Pakistan misalnya, pekerja kontrak yang melakukan perbaikan mengalami luka bakar prah akibat ledakan gas. Mereka tidak dilarikan ke rumah sakit untuk perawatan darurat. Sebaliknya mereka ditempatkan di wisma perusahaan sementara manajemen mencoba mencari cara agar tidak melaporkannya. Keterlambatan dalam menerima pengobatan ini menyebabkan kematian salah satu pekerja dan cacat seumur hidup pada pekerja lainnya.
Keterlambatan pengobatan serupa juga terjadi pada kegiatan usaha di tiga perusahaan makanan dan minuman global lainnya di Pakistan dan India. Dalam semua kasus tersebut, perwakilan serikat pekerja ditegur atau diskors karena menuntut penggunaan ambulans perusahaan. (Dalam satu kasus, ambulans tidak dapat digunakan karena sedang digunakan untuk penyimpanan dan tidak ada peralatan medis di dalamnya. Dalam kasus lain, manajemen menggunakan ambulans untuk acara pribadi seperti pernikahan). Setiap catatan penggunaan ambulans perusahaan secara otomatis menyebabkan pelaporan kecelakaan industri yang serius. Hal ini pada gilirannya berdampak pada bonus dan imbalan finansial yang terkait dengan pemenuhan KPI (тАЬnihil kecelakaan kerjaтАЭ). Jadi cara terbaik untuk mencapai тАЬnihil kecelakaan kerjaтАЭ adalah dengan tidak melaporkannya, yang berarti tidak menggunakan ambulans.
Di lokasi salah satu perusahaan global di India, sebuah derek yang membawa beban berlebih jatuh, dan hampir menimpa sekelompok pekerja. Perwakilan serikat pekerja diskors karena menuntut agar kejadian tersebut dilaporkan kepada pengawas ketenagakerjaan. Sebaliknya kecelakaan tersebut telah dibersihkan sebelum pengawas ketenagakerjaan tiba dan tidak ada catatan mengenai kejadian tersebut atau hilangnya jam kerja yang telah terjadi. Tiga bulan kemudian derek penggantinya jatuh, hampir menimpa pekerja di bawahnya. Namun kali ini tidak ada pemeriksaan karena perwakilan serikat pekerja masih diberhentikan. Tidak ada seorang pun yang berani melaporkannya.
Berikut adalah contoh apa yang kami laporkan pada bulan Juni 2013 di pabrik perusahaan minuman global:
Pada pukul 03.45 pagi, tanggal 7 Juni, dua pekerja tewas ketika cerobong asap ruang ketel runtuh ke arah dinding ruang ketel dan mencederai pekerja mereka. Operator Boiler, Komal Chandel (55), dan Operator Pendingin, Ravikumar Sony (26), mengalami luka parah. Rumah sakit Narmada Drama Center yang berjarak 60 km dari pabrik menyatakan mereka berduka meninggal saat tiba pada pukul 5 pagi. Menurut para saksi (yang tidak dapat disebutkan namanya karena takut dianiaya oleh manajemen) Komal Chandel meninggal di lokasi kecelakaan sedangkan Ravikumar Sony yang tidak sadarkan diri meninggal dalam perjalanan menuju rumah sakit. Komal meninggalkan seorang istri dan lima anak dan Ravi telah melangsungkan pertunangannya dan akan menikah pada bulan November serta beliau memiliki tanggungan orang tua dan saudara kandungnya.
Cerobong asap yang roboh tidak tertambat dan terjatuh karena diterpa badai. Itu bukanlah sebuah kecelakaan. Itu adalah tempat kerja yang tidak aman. Enam bulan sebelum kematian Komal dan Ravi, melalui serikat pekerja menulis surat kepada manajemen mengenai kondisi kerja yang tidak aman. Manajemen merespons melalui pesan teks, mengatakan bahwa mereka terlalu sibuk untuk bertemu karena produksi sedang berada pada musim puncak.
Untuk mendapatkan gambaran mengenai betapa kecilnya penghargaan terhadap kehidupan para pekerja di salah satu perusahaan minuman terbesar di dunia, perlu diperhatikan surat-surat yang diterima oleh keluarga mereka. Komal dan Ravi dinyatakan meninggal pada Kamis, 7 Juni 2013 pukul 05.00. Sore harinya manajemen mengirimkan surat kepada keluarga mereka dan melampirkan cek santunan. Dalam surat yang sama pihaknya mengajak pihak keluarga untuk mengirimkan salah satu anggota keluarga untuk menggantikan almarhum di tempat kerja.
Kedua pekerja yang meninggal тАУ Komal dan Ravi тАУ dapat dikenali karena serikat pekerja melaporkan tragedi tersebut dan memperjuangkan keadilan untuk mereka. Puluhan ribu tempat kerja tanpa perwakilan serikat pekerja (atau ditekan oleh serikat pekerja yang korup di kantong manajemen) tidak akan pernah melihat nama-nama korban tewas dan terluka dilaporkan. Kematian para pekerja yang tak dikenal ini sungguh tragis. Namun hal ini juga menunjukkan risiko yang masih dihadapi para pekerja. Jika tidak ada kecelakaan dan cedera serta kematian yang tidak dilaporkan, maka tidak ada perubahan yang perlu dilakukan.
Bagaimana kita mencegah sesuatu yang tidak kita ketahui? Bagaimana pengusaha dan pemerintah menjamin hal ini tidak akan terjadi lagi jika mereka tidak mengetahui apa yang terjadi dan bagaimana caranya?
Apa yang terjadi dan bagaimana caranya bukanlah soal menyalahkan. Ini tentang sebab dan akibat, pemulihan dan pencegahan. Bagi perusahaan-perusahaan besar, kesalahan dipahami hanya dalam konteks tanggung jawab. Faktanya, obsesi terhadap tanggung jawab ini telah melemahkan atau membatasi uji tuntas hak asasi manusia. Pertanyaan sebagai bentuk tanggung jawab dari mereka bukanlah тАЬbagaimana hal ini bisa terjadi?тАЭ, namun тАЬapa dampak terhadap pandangan masyarakat ke kita?тАЭ yang ironisnya tidak boleh dilewatkan. Para pekerja terpapar bahan-bahan kimia berbahaya, kondisi kerja yang berbahaya, dan suhu ekstrem, namun kekhawatiran utama tampaknya adalah risiko finansial bagi pemberi kerja terhadap tuntutan hukum, tuntutan kompensasi dan kerusakan reputasi.
Di beberapa negara, data cedera akibat kecelakaan kerja yang paling umum digunakan adalah berdasarkan klaim kompensasi. Ini adalah cara utama untuk menentukan jenis kecelakaan dan cedera di tempat kerja dan mengidentifikasi trennya. Namun hal ini juga berarti bahwa cedera atau penyakit yang menimpa pekerja mana pun yang tidak memenuhi syarat untuk klaim kompensasi karena status pekerjaan, status imigrasi, jenis kelamin atau usia mereka juga tidak dimasukkan dalam sumber data. Mereka tidak bisa mengklaim, jadi hal itu tidak terjadi.
Keheningan tragis dalam data mengenai cedera, penyakit tidak menular dan menular, serta kematian terkait pekerjaan semakin meningkat seiring dengan adanya informalitas. Hal ini menjadi kurang terlihat dengan adanya penggunaan pekerja migran, pekerjaan tidak tetap (outsourcing dan kasual/ harian), hubungan kerja yang tersembunyi, dan wirausaha, kemudian menjadi sama sekali tidak terlihat dalam kegelapan perdagangan manusia, kerja paksa dan pekerja anak.
Di perekonomian informal, kematian, cidera, atau penyakit akibat kerja umumnya tidak dilaporkan dan tidak terlihat dalam data resmi. Dalam sebagian besar kasus, hal ini disebabkan karena hal tersebut berada di luar cakupan sistem pengawasan ketenagakerjaan, atau memang tidak layak untuk diselidiki. Pekerja perekonomian informal dan keluarga mereka menghadapi pihak berwenang yang bias dan percaya bahwa pekerja mandiri yang тАЬtidak memiliki keterampilanтАЭ selalu menjadi pihak yang patut disalahkan. Dan yang lebih penting lagi kematian, cedera atau penyakit apa pun tidak terkait dengan pekerjaan.
Ketika Jasper Dalman, seorang pengantar pesan-antar makanan yang bekerja untuk platform pengiriman digital terkemuka, yang meninggal dikarenakan tertabrak oleh sebuah mobil, kematiannya dicatat sebagai kecelakaan lalu lintas, bukan kematian di tempat kerja. Ribuan pengantar barang yang terluka atau meninggal saat bekerja tidak dimasukkan dalam data cedera dan kematian akibat kerja karena mereka tidak diakui sebagai pekerja. Dan jalan di mana mereka tertabrak tidak dianggap sebagai tempat kerja mereka. Mereka termasuk pekerja yang tak dikenali.
Di usianya yang baru 19 tahun, Jasper Dalman adalah seorang pengantar pesan-antar Foodpanda di Filipina. Jasper meninggal dalam insiden lalu lintas yang mengerikan pada 19 Februari 2023, saat bekerja.
Yang juga tidak diketahui adalah ribuan nelayan tidak berdokumen di kapal penangkap ikan komersial yang terluka atau meninggal di laut. Di Filipina, kampanye untuk mengakui hak-hak nelayan mencapai puncaknya dengan diadopsinya Peraturan dan Regulasi Departemen No. 156 yang mengatur Kondisi Kerja dan Kehidupan Nelayan di Kapal Penangkap Ikan yang terlibat dalam Operasi Penangkapan Ikan Komersial pada tahun 2016. Peraturan baru ini mengatur kapal penangkap ikan sebagai tempat kerja dan menjamin hak atas tempat kerja yang aman, dengan perusahaan perikanan komersial sebagai pemberi kerja yang bertanggung jawab. Namun, dalam delapan tahun sejak Peraturan Departemen No. 156 diadopsi, industri perikanan komersial telah secara efektif melakukan lobi untuk menentang penerapannya.
Selama delapan tahun tersebut, para nelayan terus mengalami cedera dan kematian di laut, namun hal ini tidak dianggap sebagai cedera dan kematian akibat pekerjaan. Nelayan yang terlantar dan hilang di laut tidak diakui sama sekali.
Wilfredo Estampa termasuk di antara ratusan nelayan yang ditinggalkan di luar negeri oleh perusahaan penangkapan ikan tuna, Citra Mina. Dia meninggal sebelum bisa kembali ke Filipina dan kematiannya tidak pernah diklasifikasikan sebagai akibat pekerjaan.
Keluarga nelayan yang hilang di laut mati-matian berkampanye mengenai hal ini. Mereka berkampanye bukan untuk mengembalikan jenazah orang-orang yang mereka kasihi, namun sekedar untuk mengakui bahwa mereka telah meninggal. Tanpa pernyataan kematian, mereka tidak dapat memperoleh asuransi yang sangat dibutuhkan dalam menghadapi kemiskinan dan marginalisasi. Kemiskinan dan marginalisasi juga menjadi penyebab mereka tidak menentu, dan kondisi kerja yang berbahaya. Dan bagi keluarga-keluarga ini, kemiskinan dan marginalisasi mereka diperburuk dengan kematian orang-orang yang mereka cintai тАУ para pekerja yang tidak diakui oleh pemerintah dan pengusaha sebagai pekerja. Mereka termasuk di antara puluhan ribu pekerja yang tak dikenal yang harus dikenang pada 28 April.
According to the latest estimates developed by the ILO and covering the year 2019, over 395 million workers worldwide sustained a non-fatal work injury. In addition, around 2.93 million workers died as a result of work-related factors, an increase of more than 12 per cent compared to 2000.
These estimates are a crucial reminder that workers continue to face serious injury, disease and the risk of being killed at work. It adds to the urgent call to implement comprehensive measures to protect workers; ensuring that workers’ occupational health and safety rights guaranteed in ILO Convention No.155 are treated as fundamental rights.
The aggregate number of work-related injuries, illness, disease and deaths can only be estimated because the data compiled by the ILO is only as good as the national data made available. This in turn is only as good as good as the inspection, reporting and enforcement mechanisms that produce this information. For every worker who dies of a long term illness caused by or exacerbated by work – sometimes years after retirement – her or his death is not recorded as work-related. An unknown death of an unknown worker, unrecorded. Every worker who dies in an unreported industrial “accident” is another unknown death. For every worker not considered a worker by legal definition and excluded in employment statistics, she or he dies in silence.
In our continued call to stop the killing on International Workers’ Memorial Day, April 28, we must also remember the workers whose injuries and deaths are not recognized or recorded as they fall through the gaps.
Often the gaps in subnational, national and international data are institutional – due to limitations in technical capacity, a lack of standardization, and vast differences in legal definitions and regulations. But gaps in the data on work-related injuries, illness, disease and deaths are also political. The lack of public resources and funding for the inspection, monitoring and reporting that produces data is not due to poverty or underdevelopment or a lack of coordination. It is the result of political decisions that minimize the importance of workers’ lives, pushing them to the low end of the policy spectrum and into the margins of national budgets. Austerity (cutbacks) not only put workers’ lives at risk, but prevents the reporting of health damaged and lives lost.
In private industry – including the workplaces of global companies – “safety first” and “zero accidents” may appear to be a commitment to save lives, but in practice has become a financialized target; a key performance indicator (KPI). Instead of motivating local management to guarantee a safe workplace through bonuses and rewards for meeting targets, it has in many cases become a financial incentive to not report.
In the period in which the ILO report claims a 12% increase in work-related deaths (2000-2019), we were directly involved in more than three dozen conflicts with transnational food and beverage companies in the Asia-Pacific region that involved deliberate under-reporting or non-reporting. The cover up of gas explosions, ammonia gas leaks, fires and the collapse of physical structures or machinery effectively deleted from existence the injuries and deaths that resulted from these workplace tragedies.
In the Pakistan operations of a global food business, for example, contract workers carrying out repairs suffered severe burns in a gas explosion. They were not rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. Instead they were placed in the company guest house while management tried to figure out how to not report it. This delay in receiving treatment contributed to the death of one of the workers and the lifelong disability of another worker.
Similar delays in treatment occurred in the operations of three other global food and beverage companies in Pakistan and India. In all of these cases trade union representatives were reprimanded or suspended for demanding the use of the company ambulance. (In one case the ambulance could not be used because it was used for storage and had no medical equipment on board. In another case management was using the ambulance for private events like weddings.) Any record of utilizing the company ambulance automatically led to reporting a serious industrial accident. This in turn affected the bonuses and financial rewards linking to meeting KPI (“zero accidents”). So the best way to achieve “zero accidents” was to not report it, which meant not using the ambulance.
At a site of one of these global companies in India, a crane carrying an excessive load fell, nearly missing a group of workers. The trade union representative was suspended for demanding that the scene be preserved for the labour inspector. Instead the accident was cleaned up before the inspector arrived and no record of the incident or of lost working hours was made. Three months later the replacement crane fell, nearly hitting workers below. But this time there was no inspection because the trade union representative was still suspended. No one dared report it.
Here is an example of what we reported in June 2013 at a factory of a global beverage company:
At 3:45AM on the morning of 7 June two workers were killed when boiler house chimney collapsed onto the boiler house wall, crushing them. The Boiler Operator, Komal Chandel (55), and the Chilling Operator, Ravikumar Sony (26), were severely injured. The Narmada Drama Centre hospital 60 km away from the plant declared them both dead on arrival at 5AM. According to witnesses (who cannot be named for fear of persecution by management) Komal Chandel died at the site of the accident while Ravikumar Sony, who never regained consciousness, died on the way to the hospital. Komal leaves a wife and 5 children and Ravi was engaged to be married in November and has dependent parents and siblings.
The chimney that collapsed was not tethered and fell in a storm. It was not an accident. It was an unsafe workplace. Six months before the deaths of Komal and the Ravi, the union wrote a letter to management regarding unsafe working conditions. Management responded by text message, saying they are too busy to meet because of peak season production.
To gain some insight into how little workers’ lives are respected by one of the biggest beverage companies in the world, it is worth noting the letters their families received. Komal and the Ravi were declared dead at 5AM on Thursday June 7, 2013. On the afternoon of the same day management sent letters to their families with compensation cheques attached. In the same letter it invites the family to send a family member to replace the deceased at work.
The two workers who died – Komal and Ravi – have names because the union reported the tragedy and fought for justice. Tens of thousands of workplaces without union representation (or suppressed by a corrupt union in the pocket of management) will never see the names of the dead and injured reported. The death of these unknown workers is tragic. But this also points to the ongoing risks that workers face. If there are zero accidents and unreported injuries and deaths, then nothing needs to change.
How do we prevent something that is not known? How do employers and governments guarantee it will never happen again if they do not acknowledge what happened and how?
What happened and how is not about blame. It is about cause and effect, remediation and prevention. For major corporations blame is understood only in terms of liability. In fact, this obsession with liability already undermines or limits human rights due diligence. The question of liability is not “how did this happen?” and “how do we prevent it happening again?”, but “whatтАЩs our exposure?” The irony should not be missed. Workers are exposed to hazardous chemicals, dangerous working conditions, and extreme temperatures, and yet the main concern appears to be the financial exposure of the employer to lawsuits, compensation claims and reputational damage.
In several countries the most commonly used data on injuries at accidents at work is based on compensation claims. It is a key means of determining the kind of accidents and injuries in the workplace and identifying trends. But this also means that the injuries or illnesses inflicted on any worker not eligible for compensation claims due to their employment status, immigration status, gender or age are also excluded from the source data. They could not claim, so it did not happen.
The tragic silence in the data on work-related injuries, illness, disease and deaths grows with informality. It becomes less visible with the employment of migrant workers, precarious employment (outsourcing and casualization), hidden employment relationships, and self-employment, then becomes completely invisible in the darkness of trafficking, forced labour and child labour.
In the informal economy work-related deaths, injury or illness are generally unreported and are invisible in the official data. In most cases it is because it is beyond the scope of the labour inspection system, or is simply unworthy of investigation. Informal economy workers and their families encounter biased authorities who believe that the “unskilled” self-employed are always to blame. And more importantly, any deaths, injury or illness are not work-related.
When Jasper Dalman, a food delivery rider working for a leading digital delivery platform, was struck and killed by a car, his death was recorded as a traffic accident, not death at work. Thousands of delivery riders injured or killed while working are excluded from the data on work-related injuries and deaths because they are not recognized as workers. And the roads where they are struck down are not considered their workplace. They are among the unknown.
At just 19 years of age, Jasper Dalman was a Foodpanda delivery rider in the Philippines. Jasper died in a horrific traffic incident on February 19, 2023, while working.
Also unknown are the thousands of undocumented fishers on commercial fishing vessels injured or killed at sea. In the Philippines the campaign to recognize the rights of fishers culminated in the adoption of Department Order No.156 Rules and Regulations governing the Working and Living Conditions of Fishers on board Fishing Vessels engaged in Commercial Fishing Operation in 2016. This new regulation treats fishing vessels as workplaces and guarantees the right to a safe workplace, with the commercial fishing companies as the responsible employers. However, in the eight years since the Department Order No.156 was adopted, the commercial fishing industry has effectively lobbied against its implementation.
In that eight years fishers continue to be injured and killed at sea, yet these are not recognized as work-related injuries and deaths. Abandoned fishers and those lost at sea are not recognized at all.
Wilfredo Estampa was among hundreds of fishers abandoned overseas by the tuna fishing corporation, Citra Mina. He died before being being able to return to the Philippines and his death was never classified as work-related.
Families of fishers lost at sea desperately campaign today. They campaign not for the return of the bodies of their loved ones, but simply for the recognition that they are dead. Without a declaration of death they cannot claim the insurance so desperately needed in the face of poverty and marginalization. It is the same poverty and marginalization that underpins the vulnerability of fishers, their precarious employment and hazardous working conditions. And for these families their poverty and marginalization is worsened by the deaths of their loved ones – workers that governments and employers refuse to recognize as workers. They are among the tens of thousands of unknown workers who must be remembered on April 28.
