Women Workers in Downstream Ship Recycling Industry

Climate action

Sep 25

Who: Grieg Green / SEWA

What: Women workers in downstream ship recycling industry

Where: Bhavnagar city in Gujarat

Project period: 2023-2025

Web: SEWA

The project will be implemented at Bhavnagar city in Gujarat. This city is around 55 kms from Alang, which is the largest ship breaking facility of the world.

The Goal

The main goal of this project is to intensify the value-based organizing of the women workers of the downstream ship recycling industry to increase their awareness regarding safe handling of ship recycling waste and collectivize their activity such that they step up in the supply chain of this work.

This program will include the following activities:

1. Increasing the Voice, visibility, and validity of the women workers of this sector. The important contribution of these workers in the circular economy, climate change mitigation as well as economy of their household will be highlighted to these members through SEWA leadership cadre. Most importantly this activity will also encourage collective strength as a result of that the exploitation from the traders will decrease and negotiation strength of these workers will increase.

2. OSH Trainings will ensure awareness among the women recyclers to handle the waste responsibility and safely.

3. Proper usage of PPE and tools for the safety of the worker and increased efficiency

4. Formation of a Cooperative to increase the collective bargaining strength of the women workers as well as enhance their managerial skills. The supply chain for the ship recycling at the downstream can also be shortened with this initiative.

5. The cooperative with the help of the mapping of the forward and backward linkages in the downstream industry will directly, positively impact the stability of work as well as the incomes of the women workers.

The target groups in this program are the women workers associated with the downstream industry of ship recycling, especially those handling e-waste, discarded anchor ropes and other scraps from it.