Sharan Burrow’s (International Trade Union Confederation General Secretary) International Workers’ Memorial Day message on occupational health and safety (YouTube).
Category Archives: Resources
EL SALVADOR: SOICSCES inicia actividades del Día Mundial de la Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo 2019
El Sindicato de Obreros de la Industria de la Construcción, Similares y Conexos de El Salvador (SOICSCES), afiliado a la ICM, ha dado inicio a las actividades formativas de conmemoración para el Día Mundial de la Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de este próximo 28 de abril de 2019.
SOICSCES dio inicio a una serie de charlas de capacitación y concientización sobre Salud y Seguridad en el Trabajo (SST) en diferentes proyectos de construcción en San Salvador.
Las actividades del SOICSCES dieron inicio el 8 de abril del 2019 y continuarán durante todo el mes. Además de charlas de capacitación, el SOICSCES está haciendo entrega de material informativo sobre SST a obreros de la construcción y sus familias.
El Salvador: SOICSCES starts activities to commemorate IWMD 2019
The Trade Union of Construction and Allied Workers of El Salvador, SOICSCES, an affiliate of the BWI, has started its activities for International Workers’ Memorial Day to be held on 28 April 2019.
SOICSCES began a series of training and awareness-raising meetings on Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in different construction projects in San Salvador.
SOICSCES activities began on 8 April 2019 and will continue throughout the month. In addition to conducting meetings at the workplace, SOICSCES is distributing information material on health and safety to construction workers and their families.
USA: The Dirty Dozen 2019 – Employers who put workers and communities at risk
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) has published its Dirty Dozen 2019 report, which shines a spotlight on companies that egregiously put workers’ in harm’s way.
It is released in honor of Workers’ Memorial Week – joining countless others in remembering workers who have suffered injury, illness or death on the job.
National COSH has asked for help spreading the message and have asked reader to:
- Circulate the Report, Executive Summary in Spanish and the English and Spanish Infographics on social media.
- Attend one of the many Workers Memorial Events across the US.
- Give to the Fund for Workers’ Lives to make sure workers are never forgotten and employers are always held accountable for their actions.
Further details National Council for Occupational Safety and Health
USA: National COSH “¿Están los empleadores haciendo lo suficiente para prevenir las muertes en el lugar de trabajo?”
Semana de lxs Trabajadores Fallecidxs es un buen momento para preguntar: “¿Están los empleadores haciendo lo suficiente para prevenir las muertes en el lugar de trabajo?” La mayoría de las lesiones y muertes en el trabajo se pueden prevenir cuando los trabajadores pueden hablar sobre los peligros sin castigo. Podemos hacer más de 5,100 muertes por trauma y más de 95,000 muertes por enfermedad ocupacional.
http://coshnetwork.org/workers-memorial-week-events-2019
California ● Connecticut ● Florida ● Georgia ● Idaho ● Illinois ● Indiana ● Iowa ● Kentucky ● Maine ● Massachusetts ●Minnesota ● Nebraska ● New Jersey ● New Hampshire ● New York● Oklahoma ● Oregon ● Pennsylvania ● Puerto Rico ● Rhode Island ● Texas ● Washington ● West Virginia ● Wisconsin
UK: Work cancer risk warning after government safety cuts
New evidence confirming a cancer risk to tyre and rubber workers may go ignored because of the UK government’s safety deregulation and cuts, the union Unite has warned. The union was commented after research published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine revealed that workers in the tyre and rubber industry remain at significant risk of developing cancers caused by exposure to N-nitrosamines and rubber dust.
Unite noted the study findings were “particularly timely as it comes just before International Workers’ Memorial Day as the theme for this year’s event is dangerous substances – get them out of the workplace,” with the 28 April global event having a particular focus on occupational cancer prevention. The union, which represents thousands of workers in the industry, says it is unable to properly address the new health concerns as there is no longer an effective body where it can raise such issues. It charges that this “is a result of the Conservative government’s attacks on safety laws.”
The union says the UK government safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), previously had a Tyre and Rubber Industries Safety Action Group (TRISAG), with active involvement of both employers and unions, where safety concerns could be raised and dealt with. “However TRISAG has been scrapped as a result of government pressure and no similar body has replaced its work,” Unite says.
The new study confirms earlier findings that “N-nitrosamines exposures are associated with mortality from cancers of the bladder, lung, stomach, leukaemia, multiple myeloma, oesophagus, prostate, pancreas and liver.”
Unite national officer for the rubber industry Tony Devlin said: “This authoritative study is a stark reminder of the long-term health implications of being exposed to rubber. These dangers are being neglected as a direct result of the government’s cuts which are denying workers an effective voice in the corridors of power.” He added: “The lack of an effective forum to deal with exposure to cancer causing substances is another example of how the government has washed it hands of workplace health and safety. Cancer deaths will not be reduced unless effective measures are taken to cut exposure levels to N-nitrosamines and rubber dust.”
Unite news release. Mira Hidajat and others. Lifetime exposure to rubber dusts, fumes and N-nitrosamines and cancer mortality in a cohort of British rubber workers with 49 years follow-up, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 76, number 4, pages 250-258, April 2019. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2018-105181
Cancers and their work causes: An ITUC/Hazards at-a-glance guide to cancer hazards. Also in French and Spanish.
USA: Heat campaign toolkit for Workers’ Memorial Week
Public Citizen, the US public interest advocacy organisation, has published a Heat Campaign toolkit for Workers’ Memorial Week (#iwmd19 / #workerssmemorialweek) that includes graphics, sample Tweets, hashtags, handles, links and a sample letter. You can view the kit below and also download it here.
Heat Campaign Toolkit for Workers Memorial Week
Campaign Background
Excessive heat exposure endangers outdoor and indoor workers, as well as vulnerable populations. Heat is the leading weather-related killer, and it’s intensifying with climate change. Despite these warnings, the U.S. does not require workplace heat protections.
This #WorkersMemorialWeek, we’re raising awareness around workers who have died or suffered on the job as a result of dangerous heat, and we’re pushing for action and policy change to prevent future fatalities. Because a safe job is every worker’s right!
Hashtag
#WorkersMemorialWeek
#Calor
#BeatTheHeat
Handles (please add your org’s handle)
@OSHA_DOL
@Public_Citizen
@UFWF
@FarmwrkrJustice
@NationalCOSH
Action Links
Grassroots Petition to OSHA: http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers
Letter to the Editor Tool: https://bit.ly/2vgcc5J
Alert for FL Heat Legislation: https://bit.ly/2Xw4Hnl
Organizational Sign-On Letter
Add your organization to the following sign-on letter by 2:00 pm ET on 4/26, for OSHA to issue a heat standard for Workers Memorial Week: https://bit.ly/2PpJCIh
Tweets
Heat fatalities can affect everyone exposed to hot temps — from workers laboring in the hot sun to those who lack ventilation indoors. We need a national heat stress standard so employers are required to make worker safety a priority. #WorkersMemorialWeek http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers
18 of the 19 hottest years on record have occurred since 2001. While we desperately need bold action to stop climate change, @OSHA_DOL must move now to protect workers from the dangers of heat stress. #WorkersMemorialWeek https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/06/climate/fourth-hottest-year.html
Heat is the leading weather-related killer in the U.S. As greenhouse gas pollution increasingly warms the planet, the toll that heat takes on workers is getting worse. #WorkersMemorialWeek
From 1992 through 2017, exposure to excessive environmental heat killed 815 U.S. workers and seriously injured over 70,000. With accelerating climate change, worker injuries and deaths due to excessive heat exposure are projected to increase in the coming years. #WorkersMemorialWeek
260,000 U.S. workers are at risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths with no standard in place to protect them. This #WorkersMemorialWeek, we’re urging @OSHA_DOL to enact national heat stress protections that would keep our workers safe: http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers
On our current greenhouse gas emissions path, by 2100 nearly the entire southeastern U.S. will experience on average more than 85 deadly heat days per year. @OSHA_DOL must act now to protect workers from dangerous heat exposure. #WorkersMemorialWeek
The current epidemic of heat-related injuries and deaths will worsen in the coming years, as record-breaking summers become the norm. We need action to stop further climate change and protect workers from the temperature rise that’s already locked in. #WorkersMemorialWeek
The solutions to heat-related injuries are common-sense: hydration, shade, and rest breaks. But most employers won’t implement them voluntarily. @OSHA_DOL must enact a national heat stress standard to protect workers in danger. #WorkersMemorialWeek http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers
Heat fatalities can be prevented by access to water, shade and rest breaks. But many employers deny workers these basic needs — causing countless people to needlessly die every summer. Take action this #WorkersMemorialWeek to protect workers: http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers
Graphics
Shanna Devine
Worker Health and Safety Advocate
Public Citizen | Congress Watch
TEL: +1 202-454-5168
215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003
URL: http://www.citizen.org
Twitter: @safeworkers
Germany: DGB – Bundesvorstand | Workers’ Memorial Day
Jedes Jahr am 28. April gedenken wir den verstorbenen und beruflich veranlasst verletzten und erkrankten Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmern.Durch Arbeitsunfälle und Folgen von Berufskrankheiten werden mehr Menschen getötet und verletzt als in Kriegen. Die Zahlen sprechen eine deutliche Sprache.
Allein in Deutschland sterben drei bis vier Menschen täglich auf der Arbeit, auf dem Weg dorthin oder an unfallbedingten bzw. berufskrankheitsbedingten Spätfo…lgen. Täglich ereignen sich hierzulande tausende Arbeitsunfälle. Glücklicher Weise ist die Zahl der Arbeitsunfälle in Deutschland zuletzt zurückgegangen. Aber dafür nimmt die Zahl der Berufskrankheiten zu.
Es ist wichtig, sich als Arbeitnehmer im Berufsleben vor diesen Gefahren zu schützen oder geschützt zu werden! Eine besonders hohe Gefahr für Arbeitsunfälle und Berufs-erkrankungen besteht in Deutschland u. a. für Leiharbeiter. Das Risiko für Leiharbeiterinnen und Leiharbeiter, einem Arbeitsunfall zum Opfer zu fallen, ist drei Mal so hoch wie das für Stammbelegschaften, bedingt durch hohe Fluktuationen und psychische Belastung. An all diese Missstände erinnert der Workers Memorial Day.
DGB/IG BAU
Bereits 1984 rief erstmals die kanadische Gewerkschaft für Angestellte im öffentlichen Dienst dazu auf, der im Arbeitsleben verstorbenen Kolleginnen und Kollegen zu gedenken. Seither wird dieser Gedenktag am 28. April in vielen Ländern weltweit begangen, in immer mehr Ländern ist er ein offizieller Gedenktag.
Seit dem Jahr 2011 rufen der DGB und die IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt jeweils am 28. April dazu auf, der Kolleginnen und Kollegen zu gedenken, die im Rahmen ihrer beruflichen Tätigkeit durch Unfall oder Berufskrankheit ihr Leben lassen mussten.
Wir laden jeden ein, diesen Gedenktag mit uns auf unserer zentralen Gedenkveranstaltung in der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in Berlin zu begehen. Wir rufen dazu auf, der verstorbenen Kolleginnen und Kollegen auch bundesweit in Betrieben, auf Baustellen und in Objekten zu gedenken.
Nicht nur das Gedenken an die Verstorbenen ist uns wichtig. Wir kämpfen auch für die Gesunderhaltung der heute Beschäftigten.
Der Einladungsflyer zum Download:
Tasmania: Events in Hobart and Launceston to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day
Every year, unions hold a day of remembrance for workers who have died, been injured, or become ill because of their job.
We gather to mourn the deaths, injuries and illnesses that have occurred and vow to do everything we can to prevent any more.
This year the Hobart service will be held at Parliament Lawns, 11:00-11:30am on Saturday 27 April 2019.
The Launceston event will be held at the Workers’ Memorial Park in Elizabeth Gardens, 10.00am on Sunday 28 April 2019.
Hobart International Workers’ Memorial Day 2019 Facebook event here.
Hobart International Workers’ Memorial Day flyer.pdf
Launceston International Workers’ Memorial Day 2019 Facebook event here.
Launceston International Workers’ Memorial Day flyer.pdf
