Extended work hours cited in death in Hanjin

Published by rudy Date posted on September 21, 2014

SUBIC, Zambales—The latest worker to die in the Hanjin shipyard here had been working for 20 straight hours on the day he was pinned by a mobile elevated platform, according to a labor group.

Pete Pinlac, chair of Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan, told the Inquirer in a text message that Jerwin Labajan, 23, was “overworked” when the accident occurred on Sept. 11 at the shipbuilding facility of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines Inc. here.

“How many workers must die for the government to realize that the safety of our workers is being compromised because of the cheap labor policy?” asked Pinlac, whose group helped organize workers in Hanjin.

Hanjin statement

But Hanjin officials, in a statement, said Labajan, a day-shift worker, was not working for 20 hours before the accident. Labajan was an employee of Kalaya I-Tech under Subic Shipbuilder Corp. that operates at the shipyard.

Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Hanjin Shipyard said Labajan, a resident of Barangay Manggahan in this town, started working at the Hanjin shipyard in 2010.

The company’s statement said initial findings showed that there was “human error on Labajan’s part as he was operating the cherry picker alone.”

“A foot switch was likely bypassed by Labajan, causing the cherry picker’s uncontrolled movement toward the girder,” it said.

Hanjin officials said they regretted the accident. “We’re doing everything to make sure that any similar incident will not happen again,” they said.

Help for the family

They said representatives of the subcontractor were coordinating with Labajan’s relatives and would extend all kinds of assistance to his family.

They said Labajan, a trained and qualified operator of the cherry picker, was wearing his safety gear during the accident.

Hanjin said it would strictly enforce and enhance safety rules and regulations inside the shipyard.

“Records will show that the percentage of injuries, mostly minor, recorded monthly is very low vis-à-vis the 24,000 workers in the shipyard,” the company said.

Hanjin also noted that most of the fatal accidents happened during the construction of the shipyard in 2006. It said all work-related injuries were reported to the Department of Labor and Employment and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority every month since the operation of the shipyard started in 2008.

Pinlac said Labajan was the third worker in the Hanjin shipyard to die this year. He said his group recorded 37 other workers who died at the shipyard and about 6,000 work-related accidents since Hanjin started operations six years ago.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/639624/extended-work-hours-cited-in-death-in-hanjin#ixzz3PL9Am7t8
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

April 2025

World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”

Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos

Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. Time for #GenerationEquality to #orangetheworld!

Monthly Observances:

March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth

Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week

Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work

Trade Union Solidarity Campaigns

No to Trafficking

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Categories