ITF expresses condolences over Antwerp docker deaths

In a press release the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has expressed its condolences to the families and colleagues of three experienced dockworkers who died on Saturday in Antwerp, Belgium, after entering a ship’s hold to unload coal.

ITF president and chair of its dockers’ section, Paddy Crumlin, said: “Our thoughts are with the families, their colleagues and friends of these three men. This must be a desperately sad time for them.

“We can never relax on port safety and accident prevention. Antwerp is a port where health and safety is taken very seriously, and, like the three men’s trade unions, we are confident that a full investigation will take place into what happened and how any resulting lessons can be implemented.”

He concluded: “Dock work is dangerous work and everyone involved must always do everything possible to minimise the risks. This is a timely reminder of the importance of Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April (28april.org), whose message is ‘Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living’.”