Renowned US photojournalist Earl Dotter has a new exhibit which features ID badges of workers employed in industries that mined or used asbestos.
The touring exhibit, sponsored by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, will be launched at the 28 April commemoration to be held at the headquarters of the national union federation AFL-CIO.
AFL-CIO Worker Memorial Day Exhibit Event [PDF]
On this day, European trade unionists commemorate the 100,000 colleagues and friends, fathers, mothers, daughters and sons killed every year in the EU by cancers – caused at work – which are entirely preventable.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) condemns the European Commission for delaying since October 2013 the adoption of legally binding exposure limits for chemicals that cause cancer, or are toxic for male and female fertility and the unborn child, because it is conducting a review of ‘red tape’. It means that 150,000 have died while EC evaluates ‘better regulation’.
The ETUC does not believe that the European Commission so lacks humanity that measures to protect people from cancer, people from fertility difficulties, or babies in the womb from toxic chemicals, could be considered a cost to business which needs to be reduced to improve competitiveness; that human life could be just another line in the balance sheet alongside the cost of raw materials, transport and energy.
The ETUC demands legally enforceable exposure limits for a priority list of 50 of the most harmful chemicals as a first step.
We call on the European Commission to unblock the revision of the Directive on Carcinogens or Mutagens at work and include substances that are toxic for reproduction.
To mark this memorial Day, on April the 28th ETUC General Secretary Bernadette Ségol will be in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to bring International Workers’ Memorial Day to the attention of MEPs, and has meetings scheduled with Parliament President Martin Schulz and European Employment Commissioner Marianne Thyssen. ETUC Deputy General Secretary Józef Niemiec will speak at a Latvian Presidency conference in Riga on health and safety. The ETUC and Belgian trade unions also plan a commemoration outside the European Commission’s Berlaymont HQ in Brussels.
The artwork below will be used at these events.
“Some of the world’s most profitable companies are not just defending their toxic products, they are defending weak exposure standards that mean they profit and you pay. It is not ethical, it is not healthy and it is not what we bargained for. We make this pledge – if they expose us, we will expose them.”
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary
In Lebanon GSTU will hold a press conference and distribute brochures at work sites in Chekka and Tripoli.
In Jordan GTUCW will target Amman construction companies holding meetings with workers and distributing brochures.
On 28 April, at the Construction Vocational Training Center in Cairo, Egyptian union GTUBWW is to hold a workshop on the importance of occupational health and safety. The workshop will be followed by a visit to cement plants to meet workers and investigate the safety and health issues they are facing
Bahrain: Between 20 and 23 April GFBTU is to hold workshops on how to avoid worker safety and health risks in the construction sector. On the 28th GFBTU will hold an open ceremony for all workers and distribute brochures.
In Tunisia FGBB will distribute brochures to mark 28 April.
Italian construction unions have prepared a poster on accidents, asbestos and occupational diseases for action on 28 April.
A 28 April poster from CCOO Euskadi.
On 28 April the Basque country union ELA will call on its members to mobilise against the reform of the “mutuas” system, which is leading to lesser worker protection in times of sickness and increased influence of companies on determining workers’ benefits.
For more information on activities in the Basque country, please contact Leire Txakartegi
On 28th April, the Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique (FGTB) – Charleroi and the Centre de Défense et d’Action pour la Santé des Travailleurs (C-DAST) will organise an seminar in the Bois du Cazier. The seminar title is ‘We should not let them demolish our health! The event location is symbolic: a restored coal mine in which 262 miners died in 1956 following a technical accident. The union will also organise an action in front of the employers’ organisation headquarters.
For more information on FGTB Charleroi activities for this 28th April, please contact Philippe Vigneron, philippe.vigneron@accg.be
La CTA anunció en lanzamiento de una iniciativa original para este 28 de Abril, que incluye un concurso de expresión escrita, invitando a los trabajadores a compartir sus experiencias sobre la salud en el trabajo. El concurso “Sin presiones” esta siendo coordinado por la Secretaria de salud y medio ambiente de la CTA de Córdoba, la CTA Capital y el CISPREN.
Para mas información sobre el concurso de la CTA, visitar www.islyma.org.ar
Para este 28 de Abril la CGT va a destacar el impacto de los agentes químicos y biológicos para los trabajadores y trabajadoras argentinos, que suman más de 10 mil de los 660000 accidentes denunciados en los centros de trabajo. La CGT organizara asambleas en centros de trabajo haciendo énfasis en la prevención de accidentes en el manejo de sustancias química, reuniones en las regiones, distribuciones de volantes en centros de trabajo y en las redes sociales. También se sumara a la “XII Semana de la seguridad argentina”, los días 6, 7 y 8 de mayo.
Para mas información sobre las actividades de la CGT, contactarse con Mauro Posada MPosada@uocra.org