The international trade union community is mourning following the death of a Pakistani dock worker killed earlier this week at Hutchison Port’s Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), after a reach stacker reversed over him.
The 58-year-old yard checker passed away at approximately 11:00pm on March 17, 2019, at the Civil Hospital Karachi less than an hour after the catastrophic incident.
“This is a tragedy. Every worker deserves to go to work and return home safely, every shift, every day. Our thoughts are with Mushtaq’s family, his workmates, friends and comrades at KICT Labour Union,” said Paddy Crumlin, International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Dockers’ Section Chair.
“Today we mourn for a man who was only two years from retirement. This is the second time in months that I’ve been forced to say this: workers are losing their lives at Hutchison ports – an atrocious record for the biggest stevedore in the world – and families and friends are left to bear the scars.”
A worker who requested to remain anonymous today told the ITF that the incident could have been avoided, “Safety standards in the yard area are very bad. There is poor lighting in the yard and no one directing traffic management.”
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