April 28 is Workers Memorial Day – “Remember the Dead and Fight for the Living”
The first Workers Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada. Every year, people in hundreds of communities and at worksites recognize workers who have been killed or injured on the job. Trade unionists around the world now mark April 28 as an International Day of Mourning.
Resources
AFL-CIO – “Each year more than 60,000 workers die from job injuries and illnesses and another 6 million are injured. The unions of the AFL-CIO remember these workers on April 28, Workers Memorial Day.”
Hazards Magazine – “Worldwide millions die each year as a result of workplace hazards. Most don’t die of mystery ailments, or in tragic “accidents”. They die because an employer decided their safety just wasn’t that important a priority. The global trade union movement wants employers to be accountable for workers’ health and safety. Get active on International Workers’ Memorial Day, 28 April 2004.”
UK’s Amicus (now “Unite” – “Worldwide 2 million are killed by work each year. Jukka Takala Director of Safe Work at the United Nations International Labour Organisation, said: If terrorism took such a toll, just imagine what would be said and done.”
I’ll be on the road and won’t be able to blog the news headlines of the day. Be sure to visit Confined Space and rawblog Xport – two weblogs that do an excellent job of championing worker safety and shining a spotlight on important health and safety issues.
