Tag Archives: Uk

UK/England: Powerful Workers’ Memorial Day commemoration in St Helens

All photos John Riley

A SERVICE was held in Vera Page Park, St Helens to honour those who have died at work.

The event took place on Saturday, April 27, to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day, which falls on Sunday, April 28. It was organised by  St Helens Trades Union Council.

Representatives from the council, unions, community clubs, and the borough’s two MPs attended the event, with music provided by Haydock Brass Band.

John Riley, secretary and one of the founding trustees of the Workers’ Memorial Foundation, whose father passed away from work-related injuries 40 years ago, spoke about the importance of the day.  Read more on the St Helens Star website.

 

UK: Why we ‘remember the dead and fight for the living’ – Unison

On 28 April each year, International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) is a time to remember those who have died either because of a workplace accident, ill health or diseases as a result of work.

Why we ‘remember the dead and fight for the living’

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) annual statistics show on average that 135 workers are killed in work related accidents each year. They also estimate that there are around 13,000 deaths each year from occupational lung disease and cancer caused by past exposure at work to chemicals and dust (such as asbestos or silica).

However, safety campaigners estimate that the true figure for all work-related deaths is closer to 50,000 each year.

Although it is rare for a UNISON member to die in a workplace incident, unfortunately some do suffer serious injuries and work-related ill health, including musculoskeletal disorders, stress, anxiety and depression. This can significantly affect them, their family, friends and other work colleagues.

UNISON knows that the key to providing safe and healthy workplaces is effective risk management, eliminating or reducing the risk of  harm and having safe systems of work, including training and access to protective equipment.

Additionally, UNISON health safety representatives play a vital role in keeping workplaces safe and healthy by working with employers and raising members’ concerns about working condition, as well as undertaking inspections of workplaces to check all steps are being taking to keep workers safe.

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UK: “Far too little” – FACK Statement – International Workers’ Memorial Day

FACK Statement
International Workers’ Memorial Day 28 April 2025

Far too little

That is what we FACK families encounter all too often when it comes to achieving justice – or should we say, what passes for justice – when a loved one dies because of a work-related incident.  We say “what passes for justice” because, over a 12 year period, in England and Wales there were 40 cases brought under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act.

Only 29 of which resulted in conviction. And we are unaware of any cases having ever been brought in Scotland.

Yet, when the new legislation was being considered, the Government’s Regulatory Impact Assessment estimated that there would be between 10 and 13 cases per year.  So, by now, we should have expected the number of prosecutions to be in three figures.  If only it were a reduction in the number of fatalities that had resulted in the much lower figure.  It is not.  The number of people who lose their lives because of work remains stubbornly, heart wrenchingly, high. So, it is the inadequacy of our laws and their enforcement which  is to blame.

Companies do not make decisions that result in deaths. Individuals within companies and organisations do, So if a law is to serve as a deterrent, that can only be achieved by framing offences in such a way that those responsible are held accountable, that prosecutions will be brought, prosecutions will succeed and punishment then fits the crime.

As things stand, what passes for justice is far too little, and comes far too late.

We’re sure Natalie Woods McKeown would add to that “if at all”. She posted on Facebook less than 2 weeks ago about the 23rd anniversary of her dad’s death on a site where he became entangled in faulty machinery, making the heartbreaking point that she and her sister still have no answers to fundamentally important

questions.  They feel they have had more than 2 decades of being let down, by the Police, prosecution authorities and the HSE. She heartbreakingly ends her post saying:

Dad, not having you in our lives does not get any easier…23 years of injustice just adds to the pain.”

Ken Cresswell, John Shaw, Michael Collings and Christopher Huxtable left home to go to work on the demolition of Didcot Power Station.  On the 9th anniversary of their deaths, Thames Valley Police issued a press release stating: “…we are confident that we are moving towards the latter stages of our enquiries.”

“Moving towards the latter stages”??  What exactly does that mean in an investigation which has already taken nearly a decade?  These families have, absolutely understandably, lost all confidence in the authorities and their ability to deliver justice.

As have the wife and sister of John Mackay, who died in 2019, alongside Tommy Williams, during demolition works at a former steelworks in Teeside. When the case was handed from the police to the HSE more than 3 years on, the HSE pledged that: “our investigation will be a thorough one, while also recognising the desire for a speedy conclusion.”

Now a further 18 months down the line and Ann and Magi remain in a state of not knowing why John and Tommy died, or whether any individual or company will face criminal charges. So much for recognition of the desire for a speedy conclusion.  We have said it before, and we will continue to say it until someone with the power bring about change listens and takes action:  this interminable wait for answers leads to justice being delayed and denied; and the trauma of loved ones being extended and compounded.

Far too little. Far too late.  Causing far too much pain.

Please let it not be thought that these injustices are faced only by the families of those who worked in high hazard environments.

85 year old June Harvey was at home in the summer of 2020, when a tower crane from a nearby construction site collapsed and devastatingly crashed through the roof and beyond, killing her. Her family still waits for answers as to why.

Simon Midgley and Richard Dyson were enjoying a weekend at Cameron House Hotel in 2017 the week before Christmas, when a fire tore through the building and tore them from their families.  Recommendations for improvements to fire and hotel safety were finally made more than 5 years after their deaths.  Now, a further 2 years later, Simon’s mum and sister have yet to see these recommendations turned to positive preventative action for others, only serving to deepen their distress.

0n a spring morning in 2018 Michaela Boor was walking her young son to nursery when masonry fell five storeys. The next day was her 29th birthday. The day after that, her family had to make the decision to turn off her life support machine.  Michaela’s mum now walks her grandson to school, past the very sport where his mum’s, her daughter’s, life ended. He asks: “why can’t we walk past the building, nanny?” Because she always tells him to cross the road.  Seven years on, no answers, and no justice, for that wee boy.

Far too little. Far too late. Causing far too much pain, that could and should have been avoided.

It could and would have been avoided if all employers cared enough about their health and safety responsibilities, preventing these “accidents waiting to happen”, which are not “accidents”.

It could and would have been avoided had our enforcement authorities – police, the HSE and local authorities – been provided sufficient resources to investigate with the necessary expediency, and wherever possible, undertake proactive preventative work to avoid incidents occurring in the first place.

It could and would have been avoided had our laws served as effective deterrents in the first place, and our justice systems been able to provide meaningful justice, swiftly.

Instead, far too many loved ones continue to lose their lives in incidents which could, should and would be prevented if only everyone cared as much as we FACKers do. We cannot and should not need to keep repeating ourselves.  We are exhausted by the need to say the same thing in a different way every year. For every FACK family that comes after us, we feel we have failed them, because, despite all that we do, all that we say, history continues to repeat itself.

We need you to add your voices to ours, to influence those who can effect change, to turn platitudes into action, and to ensure that no other family ever has to go through what our families already have gone through, and what we are forever going to continue to go through.

So, as we remember the dead, we pledge to continue fighting like hell for the living.

FACK was established in July 2006, by and for families of people killed by the gross negligence of business employers, see https://gmhazards.org.uk/index.php/fack/

Founder Members of FACK:  

Dawn and Paul Adams – our son Samuel Adams aged 6 killed at Trafford Centre,10th October 1998

Linzi Herbertsonmy husband Andrew Herbertson 29, killed at work on 30th January 1998

Mike and Lynne Hutin our son Andrew Hutin 20, killed at work on 8th Nov 2001

Mick & Bet Murphy our son Lewis Murphy 18, killed at work on 21st February 2004

Louise Adamson my brother Michael Adamson 26, killed at work on 4th August 2005

Linda Whelan my son Craig Whelan 23, (and Paul Wakefield) killed at work on 23rd May 2004

Dorothy & Douglas Wrightour son Mark Wright 37, killed at work on 13th April 2005

For more information and to support FACK, contact Greater Manchester Hazards Centre: Unit 2, The Wesley Centre, Royce Rd, Manchester M15 5BP (UK)Telephone: 0161 884 4229  Email: mail@gmhazards.org.uk

Web: https://gmhazards.org.uk/index.php/fack/

Or the Scottish Hazards Centre: 0800 0015 022.

UK: 28 April UK events listing – Megaphone

Every year on April 28th, all around the world, the trade union movement unites to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day.

It’s a moment to honour workers who lost their lives from work-related illness or injury.

Trade unions fight for a future where no worker must risk their health or life while doing their job.

That’s why unions and trades councils across the country are hosting events this weekend: to commemorate those who lost their lives, and commit to fight for a world that is safer to live and work in.

There are dozens of events planned to take place this month. 

In Britain, the most common cause of work-related fatalty is asbestos exposure.

And you are more likely to be diagnosed with asbestos cancer in Britain than in anywhere else in the world.

The TUC is holding an event in London, bringing trade unionists together to hear from experts on asbestos, and to make a plan to tackle it in our schools and hospitals. RSVP to attend on Monday 28th April.

Can’t make it to an event?

Megaphone, UK

28 April: The Hazards Campaign calls on the Government to increase HSE funding

News release, 23 April 2025 [No embargo]

Every year globally, on 28 April, trade unions, workers, and families hold remembrance events marking International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) because each year work continues to kill millions. In the UK alone the Hazards Campaign calculates 50,000 deaths a year, that’s 137 daily. (1)

IWMD is our opportunity to ‘Remember the Dead and Fight for the Living.’  This year’s theme is AI and digital platforms and their impact on workers health and safety.

Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be used to mitigate monotonous work, AI at work is increasing work intensification, monitoring and surveillance, generating negative impacts on mental and physical wellbeing, as workers experience the extreme pressure of constant, real-time micromanagement and automated assessment.’ (ITUC)(2)

 

AI is already prolific in our working lives, it is used to allocate tasks and track workers but also has been used to negate workers’ rights, for example restricting appropriate breaks leading to work related stress and mental ill health. AI in many circumstances, is leading to unacceptable pressures through pervasive monitoring and target-setting technologies, serious injuries and ill health.(3)

Workers need more than strong words to ensure AI doesn’t increase the pressure on workers.  Workers need robust Government policies and also health and safety enforcement authorities with the teeth to control the risks to workers.

Decades of underfunding and under resourcing with increased responsibilities means HSE is running on empty.

The HSE’s own data shows enforcement is stagnating, it is not making impact on fatal and major injuries at work and is conducting far fewer inspections.  Work related ill-health is stuck at an all-time high of 1.7-1.8 million workers, an increase of almost 40 per cent since 2010. With working time losses of 34 million working days in 2023/2024, an increase from 22 million in 2010.  (4)

If Stephen Timms, the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability responsible for the HSE, and the Government are serious about keeping people in work, they must also be serious about making sure that work is of a decent standard. Jobs should not harm workers or push disabled and ill people out of the workplace—or into an even worse situation.

There is both a moral and economic case for holding employers accountable for managing occupational risks faced by workers. Enforcement authorities must ensure that employers are meeting their legal duties. The Government must guarantee transparency from regulators and provide them with the resources they need to do their job properly.

The Hazards Campaign challenges the Government to invest in the health and safety of workers by resourcing the enforcement authorities and that only then, will work pay and not by workers lives.

For more information please see:

  1. Hazards Campaign The Whole Story – https://www.hazardscampaign.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Whole-story-2024.pdf
  2. ITUC – https://28april.org/?p=7125
  3. Hazards, number 168/169 double issue, 2025 – CODE RED| AI and digitalisation – technology shouldn’t be the boss of you  https://www.hazards.org/AI/codered.htm
  4. Hazards, number 168/169 double issue, 2025 – FLATLINING | Work hurts more, but bosses have never been less accountable – https://www.hazards.org/deadlybusiness/flatlining.htm
  5. https://gmhazards.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/International-Workers-Memorial-Day-general-circular-2025.pdf
For more information, press only:
Contact: Janet Newsham
Tel: 07734317158

The Hazards Campaign is a UK-wide network of resource centres and campaigners. The Hazards Campaign supports those organising and campaigning for justice and safety at work.

Contact details:
The Hazards Campaign
c/o Greater Manchester Hazards Centre
Windrush Millennium Centre
70 Alexandra Road
Manchester, M16 7WD
ENGLAND
twitter @hazardscampaign

UK: Technology shouldn’t be the boss of you. #iwmd25

Hazards magazine warns that the UK’s rush to exploit AI, algorithmic management and automation could be dangerous for workers, with work intensification, psychosocial problems and management by algorithm making work more unsafe and more unfair. A special report for International Workers’ Memorial Day, 28 April 2025.

Code red: AI and digitalisation – technology shouldn’t be the boss of youHazards magazine report, April 2025.

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

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.

 

 

Britain: TUC 28 April video message

“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.”

Britain: UK Hazards Campaign welcomes the new Workers Guide to action on indoor workplace air pollution produced by TUCAN (Trade Union Clean Air Network) and Greener Jobs Alliance

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

Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living