Tag Archives: usdaw

2023, 2023 Europe, 2023 UK, Events listing, News

UK: USDAW says a trade union organised workplace is a safer workplace on 28 April – #iwmd23

Date: 28 April 2023
Every year April 28 is International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD). It is the international trade union day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work.
Every year April 28 is International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD). It is the international trade union day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work.

For #IWMD23 retail and distribution trade union Usdaw is promoting the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) theme of ‘Organising health and safety within the workplace’. Making the case for strong laws, strong enforcement and strong unions to help Health and Safety Reps organise, inspect and protect.

  • Organise: Usdaw workplace reps have the tools, support and training they need to help keep members healthy and safe.
  • Inspect: Usdaw Reps can use their legal functions to inspect the workplace, investigate accidents and consult with the workers they represent.
  • Protect: Usdaw uses its bargaining strength to make sure that workplace health and safety policies are functioning properly. National campaigns, like ‘Freedom from Fear’ and a ‘New Deal for Workers’ give all workers a voice and to secure new legal rights.

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “International Workers’ Memorial Day is when the labour movement remembers those who have been killed or injured at work and those who have died from occupational diseases. So on 28 April we ‘remember the dead and fight for the living’ by highlighting our all year round campaigning for better health and safety.

“Health and safety at work is a right not a privilege. Keeping members safe is one of the key aims of Usdaw. This involves ensuring safe working practices and environments, safety training, ensuring the supply of personal protective equipment, and advising members and reps on all other aspects of safety at work.

“Usdaw has thousands of trained Safety Reps across the UK who are instrumental in maintaining a safe workplace and who work with management to prevent accidents. Usdaw also has experts in its health and safety section at head office who, along with the Union’s network of area organisers, offer important advice and support to reps and members.

“The Health and Safety Executive brings unions and employers together, but funding cuts and Government policies have weakened its effectiveness. That is why Usdaw is calling for a reversal of the HSE cuts. We also want to see more HSE and local authority inspectors to enforce health and safety law and for the inspectors to work with Union Safety Reps when they do workplace inspections.

“Usdaw Reps across the country will be bringing Workers Memorial Day into their workplaces, publicising the importance of health and safety and in some areas participating in public ceremonies and events. I wish them well in their commemorations and campaigning.”

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fifth biggest trade union with over 350,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion

2020, 2020 UK, Events listing, News

UK: Stop the pandemic at work, say retail workers – USDAW

Every year April 28 is International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD). This is the international trade union day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured or made unwell by their work. The focus this year is of course the global COVID-19 pandemic. While everyone is affected by the crisis, many workers are on the frontline.

For #IWMD20 Usdaw is highlighting the risks many frontline workers are taking to help keep the rest of us safe and healthy. Healthcare workers in particular are risking their lives doing their job to take care of the sick. Many others like Usdaw members in supermarkets and delivering the food supply chain are providing essential services and deserve our thanks for everything they are doing. We urge the public to observe a one-minute silence at 11am on 28 April to remember those workers we’ve lost to Covid-19.

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “More people are killed at work than in wars. They die because their safety just wasn’t that important a priority. So on 28 April we ‘remember the dead and fight for the living’ by highlighting our all year round campaigning for better health and safety at work.

“Shopworkers and their colleagues in the retail food supply chain are on the frontline of feeding the country during the current crisis. They are providing an essential service in very difficult circumstances, working long hours in busy stores, facing abuse from customers and of course concerned they may contract Covid-19.

“This year we should take time to recognise the heroic efforts they are making in very difficult circumstances, alongside many other frontline workers. We particularly want to pay tribute to the brave healthcare workers and the extreme risks they have to work with. A one-minute silence at 11am tomorrow for those we’ve lost would be a fitting tribute.

“Usdaw continues to work with employers to improve health and safety for staff, particularly those dealing directly with the public. We also call on customers to stay calm, respect shopworkers and practise the necessary hygiene measures to help limit the spread of the virus. We all have to work together to get through this crisis.

“Strong unions are the best protection for workers. Workplaces that have strong union representation typically have much lower fatality, injury and ill-health rates than those that do not. Research in this country and abroad has shown repeatedly that unions make a difference.”

Workers’ Memorial Day – Stop the pandemic at work: www.ituc-csi.org/28April2020

TUC campaign: www.tuc.org.uk/workers-memorial-day

USDAW – Stop the pandemic at work and remember those we’ve lost says Usdaw on International Workers’ Memorial Day

2019, 2019 UK, Events listing

UK: Retail workers’ union briefing and leaflet

Workers’ Memorial Day is held on 28 April every year, all over the world workers and their representatives conduct events, demonstrations, vigils and a whole host of other activities to mark  the day.

Workers’ Memorial Day is the day when the International Labour Movement remembers those who have been killed or injured in workplace accidents and those who have died from occupational diseases. The event started in North America in 1986 and has been supported by Usdaw since 1995. The Day is now a global event and is officially recognised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and by the International Trade Union Movement (ITUC).

What can you do for Workers’ Memorial Day?

Dangerous substances – get them out of the workplace

For more information on Workers’ Memorial Day, see the TUC website.

  • Workers’ Memorial Day (Leaflet)

More details