Port health and safety requires significant improvement

A major international study of port health and safety has highlighted the need for better worker participation to bring the industry in line with the best practice of similar sectors.

The report, commissioned and published by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), examined six global network terminal ports and found that such sites remain a high-risk environment, despite recent improvements in health and safety management systems in the port industry.

The key recommendations are as follows:

• Current OHS systems are largely behaviour-based (top-down, rule-based) and should be strengthened by worker participation systems, which can address the underlying causes of health and safety problems;
• More attention needs to be paid to ensuring that OHS provisions are equal for sub-contracted workers; and
• Current OHS management systems are focused on safety and should pay more attention to health issues, such as musculoskeletal disorders and fatigue.

ITF president Paddy Crumlin commented: “The findings show that the GNTs have made some important steps to improving their health and safety importance, but there is still a good way to go. This report lays out guidance on what can be done to enshrine and spread good practice.”

The research was conducted by Cardiff University in cooperation with three of the world’s biggest terminal operators.

The 94-page report, which is preliminary to a more comprehensive second study, can be found here.

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