Another death by COVID-19 of a worker in the chilean salmon industry

The family says that «this was clearly the company’s negligence, they preferred their valuable cargo of salmon, even the same day that my husband died they had the rest of the crew transferring the cargo to the other ship because they had 36 hours of navigation left».

Puerto Montt, February 1^st, 2021. (radiodelmar.cl) -This weekend in Puerto Montt city the second death by Covid-19 was registered in the salmon industry in Chile. He was the chief engineer of a weelboat, belonging to the Detroit shipping company, and who provided salmon transfer service from the farming centers to the factories in different ports in southern Chile. A few weeks ago, as a result of this pandemic, a woman who worked in a salmon processing plant in the city of Quellon died.

Regarding this death and the conditions in which the embarked personnel of these ships work, the secretary of the National Federation of Maritime Unions and Seafarers «FESIMAR», Jose Lemuy told radiodelmar.cl that «we are experiencing a contagion crisis in our sector, all this because effectively companies are prioritizing fish, fish feed, and cabotage in general, over the health and lives of their workers.

It wasn’t a common cold, it was Covid

From the city of Ancud, in Chiloe, Ruth Cortés wife of who was the chief engineer of the motor ship Frigg of the Detroit shipping company, today lives a dramatic situation, since, on Friday, January 29, her husband Ernesto Marín, 58 years old, died by Covid-19, denying them his transfer when he revealed a notorious health discomfort.

“On the 27th they arrived in Puerto Montt, they were going to set sail with cargo and there was a complaint from inside the ship (for) that they went to see them because they were sick, there the Health Authority (Seremi) stopped the sail, they were aware of what was happening and they did the quick test giving all positive. The captain of the boat downplayed the situation saying that it was a common cold but they should have sent them to a sanitary residence ”, the victim’s wife tells to radiodelmar.cl.

The next day Ruth announced that her husband was already feeling more discomfort and that it was difficult to breathe. “On Friday he told me that he couldn’t give any more, he asked for an ambulance and first they took him to the clinic and then to the Puerto Montt hospital where they performed tests with very bad results, which is why they decided to intubate him. The doctor called me after hours to tell me that Ernesto had died of a cardiac arrest. »

«They prefer the valuable cargo of salmon …»

The worker’s family affirms that “this was clearly the company’s negligence, they preferred their valuable cargo of salmon, even the same day that my husband died they had the rest of the crew transferring the cargo to the other ship because they had 36 hours of navigation left ”.

Ruth explains that they were always under pressure to arrive with the loads on time, also denouncing that the companies never took preventive measures, not investing money so that the workers could join the ship with negative PCRs.

Regarding the responsibility of the health authority, she clearly says that, “they should be present and supervising, but it seems that they are present where they want. I do not understand why there is no inspection, if Ernesto had been lowered 4 days before the ship, this would not have happened ”.

In the midst of this sad moment, the woman made a call for dignity to the aquaculture workers: the workers “should not let their rights pass, they deserve decent work, optimal conditions inside the ship, if the companies want to earn money at least they must care about their workers. What came first here was the Detroit company’s earns and not losing its precious load of salmon.-