Trade unions assail Centre on Clemenceau

Left-backed trade unions on Thursday gunned for Union Environment Minister A Raja, accusing him of 'unresponsiveness' to calls to stop the asbestos-carrying French warship Le Clemenceau's transfer to India for disposal.

French court orders ship out of India

"The Environment and Forest Ministry is guilty of neglect (of Clemenceau concerns). The environment minister should therefore resign," All India Trade Union Congress Deputy Secretary H Mahadevan told a news conference, a day after France ordered the return of the decommissioned war ship.

The case was brought to the courts in both France and India by Greenpeace and anti-asbestos groups, concerned that the vessel contained unsafe amounts of asbestos.

Mahadevan, who said that trade unions had dropped their plans to hold a protest during Chirac's upcoming visit, also accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of ignoring anti-Clemenceau pleas.

"It is strange that our voice reached France but did not reach the prime minister's side," he said in New Delhi.

Emboldened by the French climb down, which it called a turning point in India's ship breaking industry, Greenpeace underlined the importance of strict enforcement of international laws while dismantling vessels.

"Ship-breakers too have a responsibility to ensure that working conditions are safe and the environment is protected," Greenpeace India Executive Director G Ananthapadmanabhan said in a letter to the Mumbai ship-breakers association.