April 28th marks the National Day of Mourning, to recognise the hundreds of workers who lose their lives or have their lives changed forever because of something that happened in their workplace.
The vigils we hold this year to commemorate these workers will be virtual – yet another way COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work.
Tell your story and what this day means to you right now.
https://canadianlabour.ca/this-national-day-of-mourning-tell-your-story/
US campaign and support group Unite Support and Memorial for Workplace fatalities (USMWF) invites everyone to join them in a day of honoring, recognising and remembering fallen workers on 28 April. They hope you will help them get the word out and share with your family, friends and co-workers.
There will be a day of events; in particular, they hope you will join them on April 28, 2020 at 7pm cst. for their ceremony LIVE on Facebook.
More details on USMWF’s 28 April activities
Enquiries Tonya Ford, Executive Director
USMWF.ORG, Inc (A 501 c3 non profit)PO Box 85171
Lincoln, NE 68501 402.326.3107
Facebook
USMWF Family Reunion/Support Group
Donate
Workers Memorial Day
11am Sunday morning, 12 April, flowers are laid to mourn construction workers who will lose their lives unnecessarily during the coronavirus pandemic.
The respectful ceremony took place at the ‘Building Worker’ bronze statue at Tower Hill, which was commissioned as a memorial for all those who have died on building sites by the construction union UCATT (now a part of UNITE). The symbolic event was to mourn the dead, but also the fight for the living, and was carried out as part of the mass #ShutTheSites movement that has been trending on social media for the past 2 weeks, calling for non-essential building sites to be closed.
Video link: https://youtu.be/5zuNNCEijFo
A new Shut The Sites FaceBook page was launched on Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/ShutTheSites/
Shut The Sites issued the following statement:
“The Bronze Building Worker statue has for many years been a memorial for workers who have died on construction sites. Flowers have been respectfully laid today to mourn the dead. But in this time of crisis we should also fight to protect the living. None of us want to be here in 6 months time laying a bigger wreath to thousands of construction workers and their family members who may lose their lives unnecessarily.
If construction workers are building a Nightingale Hospital or carrying out emergency maintenance on vital infrastructure, that’s clearly crucial to fight this pandemic. But hundreds of thousands of building workers are being forced to continue working on building sites by greedy developers and employers in order to build luxury flats, hotels and powers stations that will not be completed for at least another 5 years. None of these are essential.
Construction workers often travel on packed public transport or in shared minibuses, eat together in site canteens, live in huge site accommodation blocks and generally work in close proximity. No building worker in the country believes that construction can continue in any meaningful manner while complying with the 2m social distancing rules. Major contractors also have an appalling track record on health and safety; over decades they have sacked and blacklisted those prepared to stand up for the safety of their fellow workers. By keeping non-essential building sites open, the government and businesses are prioritizing profit above public health.
No construction worker wants to put their families lives at risk or add more burden to the NHS. The UK government should immediately close all non-essential building sites. But they also need to ensure that every single worker, whether an employee, self-employed or an agency worker, is paid straight away. We need to protect our families, but we also need to put food on the table.
Rather than forcing construction workers to choose whether to protect their families or pay their bills, the government should suspend all mortgage, rent, interest payments and penalty clauses for the next 3 months (as has already been done in Italy) and pay everyone a universal basic income (as has occurred in Hong Kong and is being proposed by the Spanish government)”.
#ShutTheSites
#PAYEveryworker
#StayHomeSaveLives
The memorial protest comes at the same time as the government issued new advice that 2m social distancing will no longer need to be strictly applied in the construction industry, but instead recommends that workers are kept two metres apart “as much as possible”. This is in stark contrast to guidance from the Scottish Government, which has ordered the closure of all non-essential construction.
Construction workers have been voicing their opposition to keeping non-essential building sites open on social media and a number of videos from across the UK have been collated and now appear on the attached .
For press interviews contact: ShutTheSites@gmail.com
Note:
A full risk assessment was carried out before the protest which identified potential hazards and control measures were implemented to remove the risk
The protest with two construction workers could be deemed unlawful. The irony being that thousands of construction workers, often lacking PPE, packed onto building sites across the UK is being actively encouraged by the government.
Dangerous occurrences and cases of actual ill-health related to coronavirus exposures have now to be reported, the UK regulator the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said.
The enforcement agency said the new legal reporting requirement under RIDDOR (The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) applies “when an unintended incident at work has led to someone’s possible or actual exposure to coronavirus. This must be reported as a dangerous occurrence.”
Employers must also make a report when “a worker has been diagnosed as having Covid-19 and there is reasonable evidence that it was caused by exposure at work. This must be reported as a case of disease.”
An update to the HSE reporting webpages advises employers: “If something happens at work which results in (or could result in) the release or escape of coronavirus you must report this as a dangerous occurrence. An example of a dangerous occurrence would be a lab worker accidentally smashing a glass vial containing coronavirus, leading to people being exposed.
HSE adds: “If there is reasonable evidence that someone diagnosed with Covid-19 was likely exposed because of their work you must report this as an exposure to a biological agent using the case of disease report. An example of a work-related exposure to coronavirus would be a health care professional who is diagnosed with Covid-19 after treating patients with Covid-19.”
Incidents can be reported to HSE online.
Malaysia’s Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) has moved to clarify that COVID-19 is recognised as an occupational disease under the country’s Employment Social Security Act 1969. Read more
Payday Report has launched an interactive Covid-19 strike tracking map so that workers can follow the wave of strikes hitting the country. Each point contains a link to more information on the strikes occurring. More
Every year more people are killed at work than in wars. 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. Workers’ Memorial Day (WMD) commemorates those workers.
Each year on April 28th, all around the world the trade union movement unites to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day (#IWMD20). We remember those who have lost their lives at work, or from work-related injury and diseases. We renew our efforts to organise collectively to prevent more deaths, injuries and disease as a result of work.
Workers Memorial Day is commemorated throughout the world and is officially recognised by the UK Government.
Theme for 2020: Coronavirus
This year we are all working in unique circumstances, as the coronavirus pandemic affects every worker regardless of sector or locality. Hundreds have lost their lives to the virus while working on the frontline, acting to protect the public and to keep society running. Workers are risking their lives every day, while many are still attending work ill-equipped and without necessary safety measures in place. We could not have a starker reminder of the important role of trade union health and safety reps in saving and protecting workers’ lives.
We remember those we have lost. We organise in their memory.
While we may not be able to attend the memorial events which usually take place on IWMD, as public gatherings around the world are not advised or allowed; there are many ways trade union members can take part in our collective day of remembrance and solidarity.
How you can take part…
Light a candle
Join others across the world by lighting a candle on the evening of Tuesday 28th April. It may be for a loved one, a worker, a group of workers or for all those who have lost their lives from work. Take a photo of your candle, and with a caption about who you’re remembering, post it on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #IWMD20.
Register for our video call
The TUC Education team will be hosting a video call at 2pm on the day, where you will be able to hear from speakers and submit questions and contributions in advance. Put the time in your diary and registration will be available via soon.
Coming Soon – downloadable #IWMD posters, social media graphics and video.
https://www.tuc.org.uk/workers-memorial-day
Announcement from the ANROEV Secretariat, 2 April 2020
The Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational and Environmental Victims is scheduled to do a formal attribute to all the victims of COVID 19 who have sacrifices their lives, on the occasion of International Workers Memorial Day 2020 ( 28 April 2020) with the theme of ” Remember the Dead, Fight for the Living.”
The ANROEV secretariat aims to collect names of workers and other front liners against the pandemic who have died fighting COVID-19. The compilation of names and information of those who died will be published as a public tribute during the IWMD 2020 commemoration on 28 April 2020.
Additionally, ANROEV members are encouraged to have their own memorial and tribute at the national level.
Ram Charitra Sah
Coordinator | ANROEV
ANROEV Secretariat
C/O- Center for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED)
Mahalaxmi Municipality, Ward No.2, Lalitpur ,
Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel/Fax: +977-1-5201786
Mob: +977-9803047621
www.anroev.org
In the Covid-19 pandemic, worker health is public health – but worker safety and health is in crisis, a top US safety law expert has said. Debbie Berkowitz of the National Employment Law Project (NELP) said the US federal government “is failing to ensure the safety and health of workers – including those most at risk, health care workers. The government has also abandoned its role in keeping all other essential workers safe – those in supermarkets, delivery, warehouses, factories, public transportation and sanitation.”
But she added: “As the federal government walks away from its responsibility to protect workers in this crisis, unions and worker activism are helping to fill the vacuum.” Berkowitz noted that dangerous shortages of protective gear were being compounded by a lack of official oversight of working conditions. She criticised the lack of action by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “the government agency responsible for protecting worker’s health and safety on the job. In a sharp departure from previous pandemics and crises, OSHA is not conducting any Covid-19 enforcement—even for health care workers at risk.
This kind of ‘dereliction’ is unprecedented, she wrote, adding: “It’s the unions and an amazing exercise of worker power and activism that have come to the rescue.” The safety law expert concluded: “It is stunning for most of us to realise the weakness of the legal protections for worker safety and health. It is amazing to see the incredible efforts of the unions and rank and file workers – both unorganised and organised – to stand up and demand protections from employers.”