USA: White House proclamation on 28 April

A Proclamation on Workers Memorial Day, 2024

A job is about more than a paycheck — it is about dignity and respect.  Our Nation’s workers built this country, and we need to have their backs.  On the most basic level, that means every worker in this Nation deserves to be safe on the job.  Too many still risk their lives or well-being in unsafe work conditions or dangerous roles.  On Workers Memorial Day, we honor our fallen and injured workers and recommit to making sure every worker has the peace of mind of knowing that they are protected at work and can return home safe to their families every night. read more

“The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat; it’s a present danger to workers around the globe. It’s imperative that we demand robust policies and practices to protect our working people from the hazardous impacts of climate change. Our call to action is clear: we must integrate climate risk assessments and emergency preparedness into our occupational safety and health standards.”

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle

Britain: Powerful moments at the Unison safety seminar, Belfast

A powerful moment at UNISON Health and Safety Seminar 2024, as delegates mark #IWMD24 by observing a minute of silence to remember all those who have lost their lives at work. #uHS24 pic.twitter.com/eawcg0lsnE

Morocco: ICOH congress marks 28 April in Marrakech

The ICOH marked International Workers’ Memorial Day on the first day of the 34th International Congress on Occupational Health in Marrakech, Morocco.

Korea: KPTU – ‘Let’s unite and show them the organised power of the food delivery riders!’

The 7th Riders’ March (KPTU Riders Union Branch) is taking place under the slogan of “Let’s unite and show them the organised power of the food delivery riders!”
The main demands are for the implementation of a comprehensive measures, including a safe delivery fee and full application of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and regulation of the abusive behaviour of platform companies such as Baemin and Coupang.
During the march, participants presented Baemin with a special award for the worst company causing injuries and deaths on the occasion of International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April.

Ireland: Dublin vigil for slain journalists

Members of the NUJ gathered on the steps of the Hugh Lane Galley in Dublin’s Parnell Square on Monday 29 April to remember the journalists killed in the war in Gaza.

The gallery steps overlook the capital city’s Garden of Remembrance and poignantly had previously been the venue for a vigil held to mark the killing of journalist Lyra McKee.

NUJ vice presidents Gerry Curran and Fran McNulty, Cearbhaill O’Siochain chair of the union’s Irish Executive Council (IEC), press ombudsman Susan McKay and Ian McGuinness, Irish organiser were among those who read from the list of the 109 journalists featured on the IFJ list of slain journalists.

A minute’s silence was observed following the reading of the list. In welcoming the attendance, which included a group of visiting Czech journalists and colleague trade unionists, Séamus Dooley renewed calls for a permanent ceasefire and said the NUJ remains gravely concerned at the treatment of journalists by the Israeli government.

The event marked International Workers’ Memorial Day and focussed on the killing of journalists in Gaza.  Last year the EC hosted a similar event at the Garden of Remembrance to remember all journalists killed in the line of duty in the period since the last Irish Delegate Conference.

Séamus Dooley said the journalists killed were slain because of their profession. In remembering those who have died we should also remember those injured and all who had lost loved ones.

It is vital, he said, that journalists should be free to enter Gaza and to report on the war. The terrible horror which has unfolded in Gaza was a story which must be covered.

NUJ News release

USA: CWPR on 28 April

CPWR

Workers Memorial Day takes place on 28 April. People around the world will honor the thousands killed each year on the job and the millions more who suffer serious occupational injuries and illnesses. The number of workplace fatalities and injuries remains unacceptably high: in construction alone, approximately 1,000 workers die on job sites annually.

Each year, April 28th offers the opportunity for us to remember those who have died and to strengthen our commitment to make sure every worker comes home safely every day. Fulfilling that commitment takes the dedication of people across the industry: owners, contractors, managers, government officials, unions, workers, and many others.

Improving the safety and health of construction workers must take many forms and respond to many hazards. This year we encourage everyone to focus on addressing:

  • Falls. One in three work-related deaths in construction is caused by a fall. The National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction brings together people from across the industry to raise awareness of this hazard and to show how to prevent these incidents. Participate in next week’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction as part of making a year-round commitment to eliminating this hazard.
  • Mental Health. Mental health issues — especially opioid dependency and suicide – continue to affect construction workers at much higher rates than the average U.S. worker. CPWR’s resources, which include Hazard Alert Cards, Toolbox Talks, and training programs, all support prevention. Also, watch for the opportunity to sign up to receive a new newsletter highlighting mental health research and effective resources.
  • truck-by Incidents. The just-completed National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-by Incidents raised awareness of these hazards, the second leading cause of death and the leading cause of nonfatal injuries among construction workers. Listen to the Stand-Down webinar on developing Internal Traffic Control Plans and check out other CPWR materials that address hazards such as dropped objects, heavy equipment, lift zone safety, and work zone safety.

 

USA: BlueGreen Alliance | New Report Highlights Worker Safety Actions Under Trump, Biden Administrations

Ahead of Workers’ Memorial Day on April 28, the BlueGreen Alliance released a report exploring efforts to protect or undermine worker health and safety under the current Biden administration and previous Trump administration. The report, Then and Now: Worker Safety Under Trump and Biden, considers administrative actions in several areas: capacity at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); protecting miners from black lung-causing silica dust; regulation of hazardous chemical facilities; worker injury reporting requirements; and COVID-19 response.

“Workers’ Memorial Day honors the workers who didn’t come home at the end of their shift,” said BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Jason Walsh. “It’s also the day we can commit ourselves to a future where every worker is able to say goodbye to their families before their shift with the safe assumption that they will be returning home healthy at the end of the day. We should expect our leaders to prioritize that.”

The new report builds on a September 2020 BlueGreen Alliance report—Misled: The Impact of the Trump Administration’s Agenda on Working Families and the Environment—which provided an analysis of a range of policy actions made by the Trump administration. In the new report the organization revisits those policy actions related to worker health and safety and sets them alongside actions from the Biden administration.

The full report can be found here.

Palestine/Britain: 28 April demand to stop killing journalists in Palestine

Members of the NUJ London Freelance Branch were joined by supporters and campaigners in Westminster opposite Downing Street to mark Workers Memorial day calling for an end to the killing of journalists in Gaza and the middle east. A good crowd heard from Gazan journalists, Palestinians and their supporters.

They were joined by Owen Jones and Jeremy Corbyn MP.  The names of those journalists killed – that NUJ is aware of – was read out,  and it took sadly considerable time to complete (listed in link below).

NUJ LFB: Remembering journalists killed in the Israel-Gaza war

All pictures copyright NUJ LFB member and Waltham Forest Trades Council delegate Mick Holder.

Media workers and health workers in other parts of the UK, including Sheffield, similarly marked 28 April by protesting the Israeli army’s killing and injuring of workers in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank during the current conflict.

 

 

Ireland: NUJ members rally for International Workers Memorial Day

Irish representatives gather at Irish Congress of Trade Unions memorial

To mark International Workers Memorial Day, the NUJ has organised and attended a number of events remembering those who have died carrying out their work and acknowledging their loss.

At the weekend the union held a vigil in Dublin and representatives also took part in a memorial today at the city’s Garden of Remembrance.

Séamus Dooley, NUJ Irish Secretary and Ian McGuinness, NUJ Irish Organiser (and member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Health and Safety committee) heard ICTU General Secretary Owen Reidy give a speech sending, “solidarity to workers internationally” and calling “for safe work at home and across the world.”

“Our event today is the National Commemoration for WMD; but it is not the only event, trade unions and workplaces will be organising events and observing a minute’s silence across the country and I know that the NUJ, among other unions, organised a vigil in Dublin yesterday.”

Reidy added that in Ireland, “tragically this year has seen a rise in workplace fatalities.  When I was at this ceremony last year, 27 people lost their lives in 2022, the lowest on record. Even one death is one death too many but it is unacceptable that the number of people who lost their lives in 2023 stood at 43.

“No one should have to put their lives at risk to earn a living.”

Other NUJ events on Monday include London Freelance Branch organising a rally at 6.30pm on Whitehall opposite Downing Street with speakers to honour colleagues killed in Gaza and the NUJ holding an event in Dublin at 6pm remembering all the journalists killed in the line of duty in Isreal/Palestine and reading their names out on the steps of the Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square.

Marking IWMD, Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “No story is worth a person’s life, but all too often journalists find themselves literally in the line of fire when carrying out their work. They endure dangerous conditions to cover wars and conflicts, they shine a light into places political despots and criminal gangs prefer kept dark and expose wrongdoings and corruption across the globe.

“The death toll, now more than 100 in Gaza, is all the more shocking because we believe journalists are being directly targeted by the Israeli Defence Forces. That is why we are calling for an immediate investigation by the International Criminal Court to ensure all incidents of the targeting of journalists constituting war crimes under international law are properly investigated.

“On IWMD we will be mourning the deaths of our journalist colleagues in Palestine and extending sympathy to their families. We will continue to work with International Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate to provide protection and provisions for the press working in unimaginable situations and suffering enormous privations. That’s why we thank members, chapels and branches for their generosity so far, but ask for further donations to the IFJ safety fund.

“We again call for the release of all hostages and for both sides to agree to a permanent ceasefire to ensure attacks on journalists and all civilians comes to an end.

“As the IFJ’s list of media workers killed grows by the week, we continue to argue with the UN for an international, legally binding convention to protect the safety and independence of journalists and to recognise that media workers face greater risks when compared to other civilians.

“On the home front, workers in the UK and Ireland are sustaining fatal injuries while doing their jobs. That is why we are working with the Trade Union Congress and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to fight for workers’ rights and safety, and lobby for greater protections while supporting the vital role of unions’ health and safety reps on the ground.”

Others who have lost their lives while doing their jobs this year include: Pakistani journalist, Sagheer Ahmed Laar, was killed on 14 March after unidentified men opened fire on him outside a pharmacy in Punjab; Abdikarin Ahmed Bulhan, a reporter for Somali National Television (SNTV), was killed on 13 March in the Abudwak district of the Galguduud region in central Somalia when an armed security guard shot and fatally wounded him at his workplace; Western News journalist Myat Thu Tan was shot dead by military personnel on 31 January along with seven other political prisoners jailed by Myanmar’s ruling junta.

Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living