One of Coloured Fin’s vessels that is deemed unsafe by workers.
ST. EUSTATIUS–“Safety first, a slogan used by most successful businesses throughout the world, seems unknown to the Trinidad-based Coloured Fin Limited line-boat company operating in the local waters of St. Eustatius,” workers said in reporting unsafe working conditions and other issues concerning the company.
For many years, locals working for this establishment have been complaining about the faulty vessels provided by their employer. Countless near-misses have been reported but so far, their safety concerns and the fear for their lives and that of their co-workers have not been addressed.
Shop stewards of All for 1 labour union Guilberto Gumbs, Vivion Simmons and Jonn Quandt said that the local workers of Coloured Fin would like to bring their grievances about their employer’s negligence to the officials’ attention.
Not so long ago, while making a regular run through the harbour, they realized that fuel was spouting upwards because of a defective fuel tank.
A few days later, a local vessel was transporting two inspectors, a deckhand, and the captain when the engine caught fire. After the crew managed to extinguish the fire, the captain continuously called for help via the onboard radio, but to no avail because of poor signal and faulty, outdated equipment.
The other vessel reported that very same week that electricity short-circuits kept tripping the breakers that lead to the running lights. “And then there are leaky vessels that leave and go to the dry dock without the crew that mans these vessels and they return to service repeatedly with just a new paint job and hardly any upgrade to the technical components of these vessels,” the workers’ representatives said.
“Daily we are expected to perform our duties incident-free while our employer blatantly refuses to provide a safe working environment with properly functioning equipment. If by any chance an employee is involved in an accident or near-miss he is obligated by the company to take a drug- and alcohol test which could lead to immediate termination. Toilets on the vessels are not functioning and the water meant for drinking tastes like the water from the garden hose,” the workers said.
In the meantime, the union claims that vessels manned by foreign crew are intact with all the “bells and whistles,” although the responsibility and the issuance of licences for local waters is a responsibility of the Harbour Master and the local Government.
Coloured Fin is granted weekly permits for foreign workers, stating that qualified locals are not to be found.
“We have noticed that these working conditions and faulty vessels are part of a calculated effort to get rid of all local workers to be able to use a workforce that is not subjected to labour laws and other legal regulations,” the workers said.
They are sending out an “S.O.S.” to the local government as the lawful concession holder based on Article 13 of the Pilotage Act BES (Loodsenwet), and secondly to NuStar/Statia Terminal N.V. that has been granted the temporary use of this concession, and thirdly, to the Department of Social Affairs and Labour of Government Department Caribbean Netherlands RCN.
“This affair concerns the whole of the community of Statia and the Dutch Caribbean, as the lives and safety of locals do count, and we continue to fight for their rights as these are protected by law,” the three shop stewards said.
A spokesperson for Coloured Fin said the company could not comment on the issues presented by the workers at this moment but stated it would provide a statement at a later time.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79894-coloured-fin-workers-report-unsafe-working-conditions
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