Promoting occupational safety and health and a just transition in the shipbreaking and recycling sectors in Pakistan

The project is a comprehensive and integrated approach that focuses on policy alignment, design and establishment of institutional mechanisms and governance systems, and at the same time develops the capacities of the stakeholders in the ship recycling sector by promoting sustainable social and environmental practices. The project draw froms the experience accumulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s SENSREC programme in Bangladesh and ILO’s Decent Work initiatives in India. The overall objective is to enhance the capacity of the Government of Pakistan and its ship recycling industry to promote a just transition and put in place sound and effective measures that improve the standards of health, safety and environmental compliance at ship recycling yards, as required by the Hong Kong Convention, as well as the capacity for environmentally sound waste management of the hazardous and other materials that are generated from the process of ship breaking. From a labour perspective, the project advocates for the promotion of decent working conditions including labour and social protection of workers. The work of the project consists of a number of actions to support long-term improvements in safety, health, social and environmental protection and ultimately for the development of new infrastructure. In this regard, sustainability of these achievements is an important factor that will need to be assessed by the project partners, particularly to determine the need for an additional phase of the project that could finalise, for example, the development of national regulations, provide technical support and capacity building in relation to waste management and a new treatment facility, and fully deploy training for the workforce in ship recycling yards. The project plan is divided into four components covering legal and institutional refinement; capacity building for health, safety and environmental compliance; planning for management of hazardous materials and wastes with an outline design of a facility for downstream treatment, storage and disposal of waste; and supporting industry upgrade. Delivery of these components will consist of international and local inputs and coordination. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) acts as the Implementing and Executing Agency (IEA) for the project and will have the overall implementation, fiduciary and project administration responsibilities, including the set up of a monitoring and evaluation system for the project. The IMO works very closely with the ILO Country Office in Pakistan, which is the National Executing Partner for the project, hosting a National Project Office to support the day-to-day implementation and coordination of the project activities. An Executive Committee comprised of members from IMO, ILO, the Embassy of Norway in Pakistan, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination will act as the highest decision-making body for the project, with the industry representative also invited as an observer. A National Steering Committee, chaired by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, and integrated by other key government and provincial representatives, and PSBA, provides guidance and advice on all technical components of the project.

Project symbol

PAK/24/04/OMI

Admin unit

CO-Islamabad

Start date

15/02/2025

End date

30/06/2027

Total allocation

748728

Total expenditure

Status

Active

222067

Development Partners

International Maritime Organization

Country/Countries

Pakistan

Outcomes

Outcome 2: Strong, representative and influential tripartite constituents and effective social dialogue
Outcome 5: Gender equality and equality of treatment and opportunities for all
Outcome 6: Protection at work for all
Outcome 1: Strong, modernized normative action for social justice
Output 9.1. Improved coherence in multilateral support for the development and financing of integrated policy responses for social justice through decent work