About the sector

The stevedoring industry has changed significantly in recent years. Competitive pressures have led to the use of new technology and equipment, and changed industrial relations. The changing face of stevedoring jobs is most evident in its workforce. Once considered a long-term career, employers increasingly rely on new and less-experienced casual workers.

The majority of serious injuries and fatalities in stevedoring arise from the fact that the work environment is constantly changing and largely unpredictable. The very nature of stevedoring – the process of loading and discharge of cargo vessels – presents a vast array of environmental, physical, mechanical and psychosocial risks that require constant effective communication, consultation, supervision and training together with sound systems of work in order to ensure those risks are managed.