3F Transport does not believe that things are as they should be at Gemini Kaj in the Port of Esbjerg, where Fairwind ships offshore wind. And now the union, together with other unions, is presenting a document access from the Danish Working Environment Authority as evidence.
The document access shows that Fairwind, which works on shipping projects for Ørsted's German wind farms Borkum Riffgrund and Gode Wind 3 & 4, does not meet certain requirements. These are Ørsted's offshore wind projects, but Ørsted has chosen Siemens Gamesa as the supplier. The turbine manufacturer has then again chosen Fairwind for the work as the last link in the supply chain.
The document access shows that Fairwind has not chosen any occupational health and safety representative or prepared a so-called workplace assessment (APV). Both are requirements in the Working Environment Act, which the company does not meet.
- Their working environment organization does not exist, says Jakob Lykke, chairman of 3F Transport in Esbjerg.
At the Port of Esbjerg, the union had encountered a wall of closure on the fenced site at Gemini Kaj. But at the company's office in Vejle, a different picture emerged when the Danish Working Environment Authority showed up.
- Fairwind laid low, and their health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ) manager admitted that they did not have a safety organization, explains Jakob Lykke and adds:
- There are many other things, but the Danish Working Environment Authority stopped there.
Danger to others
The chairman of the dockworkers at the Port of Esbjerg is also thinking that other workers at the port could be injured due to Fairwind's lack of safety.
- A risk assessment has not been made, so it could end up affecting others who work at the port – including our members, says Brian Reichle.
The 3F Transport chairman is also in no doubt about where the main responsibility lies.
- Ørsted and Siemens Gamesa are behind it here, Jakob Lykke states.
The trade unions' common front
A number of trade unions consisting of the Danish Electrical Workers' Association, the Metal, Tin and Plumbers' Association, 3F Esbjerg and 3F Transport Esbjerg have joined forces against Fairwind's working conditions at the Port of Esbjerg. And what for the trade unions initially included wages and working conditions has now also expanded to include safety in the workplace. Here, they are ready to move forward.
- Ørsted's contracts must include a provision that safety is observed. Here, basic safety has not been observed. You don't know how many accidents and near misses there have been, because nothing has been registered, says Brian Reichle and is supplemented by his union chairman:
- We need to go where we have social clauses, so that there are proper working conditions at the Port of Esbjerg, says Jakob Lykke.
DOI.dk has tried in vain to get a comment from Fairwind.
Siemens Gamesa said briefly: "It is Fairwind's responsibility." Ørsted, on the other hand, refers to Siemens Gamesa, as Fairwind is their supplier.
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
