Unions will urge the UK to remember those killed through work and will campaign for greater health and safety enforcement to ensure tragedies are not repeated as Workers Memorial Day returns this weekend.
Supported by the TUC and Health and Safety Commission, the annual day on 28 April aims to “remember the dead: fight for the living”, with this year’s specific theme being ‘Health and Safety needs not just regulations, but also enforcement’.
Unions including Amicus, Unison, Communication Workers Union (CWU), and Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) ran activities today, comprising one-minute silences to remember the dead, educational and lobbying events, and health and safety inspections related to the workplace, including workloads, hours, stress and musculoskeletal disorders.
A CWU spokesperson said: “28 April became an international commemoration day in 1996 at the United Nations in New York, when a global union delegation lit a commemoration candle to highlight the plight of workers who die, are injured, or become ill each year due to unsustainable forms of work and production.
“Since then, the number of commemoration events has grown and they now take place in nearly 120 countries. These include a wide range of activities, from large rallies and sectoral mobilisations to educational and lobbying events, including basic information dissemination.”
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