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
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
— UNISON Health & Safety (@UNISON_HS) April 30, 2024
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.
“On International Workers’ Memorial Day, we remember every life lost to unsafe work and commit to fighting for the health and safety of every worker.”
On International Workers’ Memorial Day, we remember every life lost to unsafe work and commit to fighting for the health and safety of every worker.#IWMD pic.twitter.com/JXZA2gUfZ1
— Trades Union Congress (@The_TUC) April 28, 2024
On April 28th, International Workers Memorial Day this year as we remember all those who have died because of work (1) workers across the UK will also be campaigning on how the climate crisis is making their work unsafe and unhealthy putting lives and livelihoods in jeopardy. A climate crisis that is doubly impacting on workers lives by creating suffocating and deadly air.
In the UK more than 40,000 people a year will die as a result of air pollution. And it’s not just about traffic fumes but workers are exposed to toxic indoor air as well. The guide provides workers with concrete actions they can take to work with their employers to reduce the air pollution they are exposed to.(2)
“No-one should be exposed to polluted air, be injured, develop occupational diseases or die because of work. The vast majority of these are foreseeable and preventable. Workplace harm is a blight on our society and for our families and loved ones.”
The Hazards Campaign calls for more urgent action to ensure that workers are not exposed to unsafe and polluted air inside and outside the workplace. (3)
The Workers Guide provides detailed information on what employers should be doing to prevent exposure to polluted air, how ventilation and air filtration can be improved, practical actions which show what workers are being exposed to, and finally what actions workers can take to clean the air and reduce pollution at work.
‘ We make the invisible visible through air monitoring and then put in place solutions to reduce pollutants and clean the air. This is a win win situation because, healthier workers have reduced sickness and absence, there is less disruption to services and production and it helps towards achieving net zero carbon targets.’
For more information Please see:
www.hazardscampaign.org.uk
St Helen’s Workers Memorial is based on a glass worker playing with their child in the open air. Attendees pin purple forget-me- knot ribbons to the coat each year. Very beautiful and moving.
All set for tomorrow Remember the dead fight for the living pic.twitter.com/vzGQcpwPKb
— The Workers Memorial (@MemorialWorkers) April 27, 2024
TUC has published an interactive map listing 28 April events. It is being continually updated – you can submit an event yourself or view the map here. .png)
More on TUC’s 28 April webpages
Families Against Corporate Killers has released the following statement to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day:
“A simple sentence written by Anthea on her husband Peter’s first missed birthday. But words which wrap within them a whole world of pain. Because, Peter had died in an incident at his workplace a matter of weeks before. Some 21 years before this, Anthea and Peter had seen their 17 year-old son Dan leave for work, and not return home. He had been sent on to a fragile roof, without supervision, less than a week into his working life. A decision by his employer which ended his all too short life. One woman should never ever have to bear such loss. When our time with our loved ones is cut so brutally short, FACK family members can remain
held captive in a moment in time… ”
“…The time is now for those employers who have not yet done so, to wake up to their responsibilities; for politicians to bolster protections; for the climate crisis to be tackled; for regulators to be given the resources to proactively and preventatively inspect; and for future generations of loved ones to be given more time, all of their time.”
Read the full FACK statement here
Wednesday 24 April 2024
Hundreds of union reps will inspect workplace buildings for safety this week
The TUC has organised a nationwide inspection of workplace buildings this week, with more than 600 trade union health and safety reps taking part.
Building safety has come to the fore in recent years for several reasons, including:
The TUC is calling on the government and employers to make workplace buildings safer by:
The week of action on building safety is part of TUC and trade union activity for Workers’ Memorial Day on Sunday 28 April, when we remember those who lost their lives due to work-related illness or injury and commit to making all workplaces safe.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:
“Everyone should be safe at work. But when some people step through the door of their workplace, they step into danger.
“This week trade unions are taking action by inspecting the safety of hundreds of workplace buildings. And we are calling on government ministers to speed up the removal of RAAC and asbestos from schools, hospitals and other public buildings.
“If you’re worried about safety at work, get together with colleagues to join a union. Unions give workers the power to protect themselves. And the health and safety reps that we train can be life-savers.”
Notes
– Extent of RAAC and asbestos in workplace buildings: The full extent of buildings containing RAAC is not yet known. However, it has already been identified in thousands of public buildings, including hundreds of schools and hospitals.
Surveys have so far found RAAC in 234 education settings, and the government says that in 119 schools one or more buildings will have to be rebuilt or refurbished. More information is here. A list of the schools where RAAC has been identified is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information
An estimated 1.5 million buildings in Britain contain asbestos. Research by the TUC and Labour Research Department has uncovered the extent of asbestos in parts of the public estate, including NHS premises in London and Scotland and English local authority buildings.
– Work and Pensions Committee recommendation on asbestos: The Committee’s report ‘The Health and Safety Executive’s approach to asbestos management’ (Sixth Report of Session 2021–22) states: “We recommend that a deadline now be set for the removal of asbestos from nondomestic buildings, within 40 years. The Government and HSE should develop and publish a strategic plan to achieve this, focusing on removing the highest risk asbestos first, and the early removal from the highest risk settings including schools.” (para 52)
– About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.
TUC says “We know the risks of Raac, asbestos, poor fire safety and ventilation can be a dangerous mix. Too many of our workplaces are riddled with one or more of these. Successive governments have failed to remove and improve, and too many employers fail to properly control risk.”
So in the week leading up to Workers’ Memorial Day, TUC is taking action asking union safety reps, or reps who are responsible for health and safety as part of their role to carry out a building safety inspection. Between Monday 22 and Sunday 29 April, union safety reps across the country will all inspect together. More than 600 reps have already signed up. More details
Unison – Workers’ Memorial Day video