‘It has had a knock-on effect’

Martijn van de Beurcht, FNV Active Trade Unionist

Martijn van de Beurcht provides safety training to shipbreakers in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan

First impressions

Poverty and lack of education

‘The first time I travelled to Alang in India was in 2019 for the festive opening of the training venue. The trade union welcomed us with flags, bells, and whistles. We drove for miles, past shipyards and plots of land where individual parts from ships were being sold. I had already heard a lot of stories from my colleague Joop, but the poverty in the area and the lack of education still astonished me.’

Biggest obstacle:

Online training due to corona

‘During the corona crisis, we were not able to travel to India and therefore developed a manual for trainers and instructors. For this purpose, we provided online training, which went pretty well under the circumstances. However, we noticed that things go ten times better if you are physically present, because there is much more interaction with the course participants. Otherwise, you are mainly busy just sending information, and that is something we do not want.’

Breakthrough moment

Training session taken over

‘At some point, we organised a training session with an interpreter who was not very proficient with technical language. During the coffee break, a former course participant asked, ‘Shall I do the translation? Because the interpreter is skipping essential information.’ Of course he could. The man started to speak increasingly more by himself, and eventually all I needed to do was to click on the PowerPoint presentation. He had taken over the training session. And that is exactly what we wanted to achieve: the provision and transfer of knowledge. The nicest thing was that, at a later stage, this course participant set up his own training courses on how to deal with safety.’

Personal contribution

Training trade union leaders and members

‘I have worked in shipbuilding since 1994, where I am engaged in training personnel. Through my colleagues Joop van Oord and Ruud van den Bergh[CF2] , I became involved in shipbreaking training. If you want a stronger trade union, you need to increase knowledge. Initially, we trained the trade union leaders in India and eventually the members themselves. These are people on the shopfloor ranging from crane operator and sheet carriers to supervisors. The training sessions are as practical and applicable as possible: for example, about asbestos. Where does it come from? What is it used in? What does it do to you? How do you remove it?’

‘We have saved lives’

‘The last time we were in India, we went to a conference that was attended by important people such as cash buyers and CEOs of shipyards. They told us that we had saved lives with our training sessions. The work is carried out better and safer, which results in fewer accidents. In addition, they also pass audits more easily and increasingly recognise the added value of the trade unions. It has had a knock-on effect. We have contributed significantly to the improvement of working conditions in the shipbreaking industry.’

‘Give people trust and they will grow. That is such a beautiful thing to see.’

‘For reasons of safety, it is important that shipbreakers communicate well with each other. But especially in Bangladesh there is still a clear hierarchy, and people did not dare to speak up at first. We therefore applied creative methods. I had groups of five people make little houses from sticks. The group leader knew how to do this, but everyone else was blindfolded, so they had to consult with each other. I saw many different houses result from this activity, but most of all I saw improvements in communication. ‘If you give people trust, they will grow. That is such a beautiful thing to see.’