Vol. 72/No. 32      August 18, 2008

On July 25 some 1,500 workers demanding safety on the job marched on the merchant marine ministry in Piraeus. Riot cops attacked the demonstration, firing tear gas at the protesters.

The explosion killed seven workers, who were welding on the Friendship Gas tanker, as well as one of the ship’s officers. Workers in the area are convinced the toll may be higher. “African immigrant workers had also been seen working on the ship,” said Panagiotis, who was working on the vessel next door and asked that his full name not be used.

Since 1997 a total of 37 workers have been killed at the Perama docks.

Maintenance work at these docks is done by small contractors with notoriously low safety standards. “Ship owners bring their vessels here because they want the job done cheaply and fast,” a contractor who did not give his name told the Militant.

“This dock area is a crematorium,” the mayor of Perama, Yiannis Glykas, said in a radio interview. “Safety standards are negligible with workers often lacking even fireproof suits and masks.”

As authorities investigate the causes of the explosion, the unions at the docks stress several common safety violations. According to a statement by Yiannis Stefanopoulos, president of the Metalworkers Federation, the merchant marine ministry routinely issues permits allowing work to begin before the tankers have been adequately inspected to assure they are free of gas. No safety exits had been cut into the hull, creating a death trap.

The highly flammable polyurethane insulation of the tank had not been removed before workers started on repairs using acetylene torches. In addition, the Friendship Gas tanker had been permitted to dock alongside other vessels.

The unions are demanding upgrading of the role of mixed (union-management-ministry) safety committees, proper firefighting and medical facilities at the docks, and severe penalties for those responsible for safety violations.

On July 31 another 24-hour strike took place with the participation of the Pireaus Labor Center. There was also a march to the ministry of labor in Athens. While workers demonstrated outside, union representatives met with the vice minister.

“We have not come here to beg, but to demand that immediate measures be taken so that we never have to mourn for our coworkers again,” said Sotiris Poulikogiannis, president of the Metalworkers Union at Perama.  
 
 
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