Romania: 28 April message from Federatia Sanitas din Romania

Federatia Sanitas din Romania

Romania, #IWMD21
April 28, 2021-International Day of Health and Safety in Work (SSM)
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us once again the shortcomings of the safety and health system in work in hospitals and social care centers in Romania.
On the occasion of the International Day of SSM, the International Labour Organization (ILO) calls for resilient safety and health systems capable of dealing with future crises. Better national health and safety policies in work, institutional and regulatory frameworks that are integrated into a strong and coherent response to crises of any nature that may occur, the ILO report said on the occasion to this day.
′′ Since the pandemic started, workers in specific sectors such as health and social care have been particularly vulnerable to the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2. According to data quoted in the Report, worldwide, around 7.000 workers Healthcare workers have died since the outbreak of the crisis, while 136 million health and social care workers are at risk of contracting COVID-19 at work.
The pressures and risks facing health care workers during the pandemic have also affected their mental health: one in five health workers globally reported symptoms of depression and anxiety ′′ the ILO release said. (source: https://www.ilo.org/…/news/WCMS_783121/lang–en/index.htm)
The health crisis we have been experiencing for over a year has emphasized all the fragilities of the safety and health system in work from public health and social care institutions in Romania.
When we talk about safety and health rules in work, we don’t just mean protective materials and equipment – combinations, masks, gloves or disinfectants!
There are plenty of other risks, from exposure to dangerous materials, biological agents or radiation, to the least recognised as professional stress, harassment or bullying.
The government and employers are obliged to provide employees with normal conditions for decent work, to comply with the legislation and protocols regarding the SSM, whether the professional activity is under normal conditions, or we function in crisis!
Because the price of ignoring the safety and health rules in work is measured including in lost lives!

Georgia: GTUC statement on International Workers’ Memorial Day #iwmd21

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Georgia, #IWMD21
GTUC • საქართველოს პროფკავშირების გაერთიანება
❗️ April 28 is the International Day of the Dead and injured at workplace
▪ On the International Day of Remembrance of Employees, the Union of Professional Unions of Georgia joins the demand of the world trade unions, so that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Labor and Health of Employers in the Workplace, recognizes as fundamental rights, as well as:
▪ Right to effective recognition of freedom of union and collective negotiations;
▪ Abolition of forced or compulsory labor;
▪ Elimination of children’s labor;
▪ Prohibition of discrimination in workplaces;
Every year 2,6 million people die from job related professional illness and injuries. The pandemic has made the situation even more difficult.
The pandemic has clearly shown us the vulnerable conditions in which employees and citizens are in. Evidence from all over the world proves that the virus is spreading in jobs and not only in healthcare and care, but also in factories, meat products, warehouses, schools, offices, transport and other sectors.
Therefore, it is especially important that labor safety and health be discussed in the rank of fundamental rights.
In addition, it is necessary to recognize Covid 19 as a professional disease.
Every 10 seconds in the world, one person dies due to labor safety standards deficiency. If lots of employees worked in shameful conditions before the pandemic, the situation got even worse today.
We urge the government to carry out comprehensible responsibilities to protect employers and community members who move into or touch with such employment areas. This is their fundamental right.
The 2019 declaration of the International Labour Organization, which governments, employers, and trade unions have been unanimously adopted, includes a promise to keep the employee healthy and safe in the workplace. The rules of the International Labour Organization also include such conditions. And the World Health Organization already recognizes health as a fundamental human right.
One of the main priority issues in labor relations for the Union of Georgia’s professional connections was and is labor safety, as far as human life and health are the greatest value.
Important steps have been taken to improve labor safety in Georgia in recent years to demand trade union. Laws on ′′ Labour Safety ′′ and ′′ Labor Inspection ′′ have been enacted. Labor Inspection Service has formed a separate public law legal personal with an increased mandate, which means overseeing labor standards in all economics.
The Labor Inspection Service Consultancy Organisation-Advisory Council has been established.
If we move forward in terms of the legislation regulating the above-mentioned labor safety and perfection, we cannot say the same about legislation.
Georgian legislative acts of so-called ′′ Technical Regulations ′′ that came into force since 2013, cover only some parts of economic activity. Accordingly, in areas where labor safety issues are not regulated by Georgian normative acts, employers and supervisors should be led by the Soviet normative acts in force before 1992 Supervision agencies in those areas of activity do not have legal mechanism for employers to arrest administrative houses.
It is necessary to improve labor safety in the country: refinement of the legislative base and strict enforcement of the law. The main indicators for assessing labor safety are statistics on industrial accidents and professional diseases. The latter is not calculated by the state until now.
Labor safety remains the main challenge in 2020, the number of deaths in jobs reached 39, and the number of injured reached 249
45 died in 2019, and 59 seriously injured in 168. 2018 were killed and 199 injured seriously. There is a sensible loss in the construction sector in terms of deaths between last year and 2019, in particular in 2020, 11 and 44 seriously injured, while 29 died in 2019 and seriously injured 54 A human being.
One of the important conditions for effective enforcement of the law is the number of labor inspectors in the country and the opening of regional structures. Today Georgia has only 53 labor inspectors, whose localization is only the capital.
We believe that it is important to take into account the state of labor safety and to reduce the accidents in the workplace and take into account the above-mentioned disadvantages of the state.

USA: A proclamation from US President Joe Biden on Workers Memorial Day, 2021

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Photo: Unsplash/Tabrez Syed

America’s workers are the backbone of our economy.  In every State, territory, and Tribal land, they leave their homes and families and head to work — applying their grit and skill to create, serve, and service all those things that make our world turn.  Even during our Nation’s most difficult periods, American workers have always persevered, ensuring that our communities remain resilient and that our Nation stands ready to confront the unforeseen challenges of each new generation. Though workers make tremendous sacrifices — especially essential workers who selflessly serve their communities during times of crisis — none of them should have to risk injury, illness, or death in order to provide for themselves and their families. Tragically, thousands of workers are killed and millions more are hurt or fall ill every year in the workplace — incidents that are often preventable.  On the 50th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, we reflect on the workers who have tragically lost their lives or have been harmed in the workplace, and we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that every American worker has a safe and healthy work environment.

Over the past century, labor unions have fought hard — very often successfully — to draw attention to unsafe workplace environments and organize for safer work conditions and protections from the Federal Government.  In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act codified private-sector workers’ right to organize, collectively bargain, and strike.  Decades later, the passage of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act in 1969 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970 enshrined a promise that the wanton indifference to workers’ lives — the days of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the Farmington Mine explosion — would no longer be tolerated.  Establishing and enforcing Federal workplace safety and health standards has undoubtedly saved lives.

Despite the progress we have made cementing workplace protections into law, many workers still fear retaliation and retribution from management when they are asked to perform unsafe tasks or work in unsanitary conditions.  This fear forces many workers to remain silent, putting their lives and the lives of their colleagues at risk.  Alone, a single worker is often at the mercy of their boss, with little chance of rectifying an unsafe working environment created by employers who cut corners in the name of profit.  United, and protected by law from intimidation and coercion from their employers, workers can collectively demand improved working conditions.

In an economic system that puts too much power in the hands of wealthy corporations and Wall Street, unions give workers a way to band together, wield their full power, and stand on equal footing with management.  Unions not only protect the physical wellbeing of workers, but they also protect their financial security; they protect workers’ equity, too, helping ensure that workplaces are free from harassment and discrimination.  Over the past half century, we have seen the percentage of American workers represented by unions decline dramatically.  It is no surprise that during this same period, the average incomes of the bottom 90 percent of households in America have only risen by about 1 percent.  The decades-long assault we’ve seen on union organizing is a direct assault on the health and incomes of American workers.

My Administration is committed to protecting the lives, rights, and livelihoods of workers and reducing workplace accidents, injuries, and fatalities.  That is why I strongly encourage the Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2021 — and why I included the PRO Act as part of my American Jobs Plan.  The decision to form a union should belong to workers alone — free from coercion, interference, or intimidation — and this important legislation would empower workers to exercise their right to organize, hold management accountable for violating the rights of their workers, and promote union elections that are free from interference from employers.

It is clear that we have not completely fulfilled our obligation to protect our Nation’s workers.  We must always remain vigilant against the notion that worker endangerment is simply a necessary cost of doing business.  And we must always protect the right of workers to unite and bargain for their own mutual aid or protection.

Today, we mourn each treasured life taken away on the job.  Those stricken by disease and fatal injuries as they keep America running deserve a dedicated day of grateful prayer and remembrance from the living.  Workers Memorial Day impels us to work for a future where no one should have to risk their life for a paycheck.  When our Nation fully recovers from the challenges we face today, it will be in large part because of the sacrifice and perseverance of our workers.  We commit to holding close their memory and investing in the health and safety of the colleagues they have left behind.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28, 2021, as Workers Memorial Day.  I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community, and education programs and ceremonies in memory of those killed or injured due to unsafe working conditions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/27/a-proclamation-on-workers-memorial-day-2021/

Czech Republic: ČMKOS message on International Workers’ Memorial Day

ČMKOS message on International Workers’ Memorial Day

Belarus: 28 April message from Belarusian Independent Trade Union – Беларускі Незалежны прафсаюз

Belarusian Independent Trade Union – Беларускі Незалежны прафсаюз
International Labour Organization (MAP) declared April 28 World Labour Day to bring global public attention to the scale of the problem, and how creating and promoting a labor protection culture can contribute to reducing annual mortality in the workplace.
Trade unions celebrate this day – International Day of Remembrance of Workers who died at work, or died due to dangerous, difficult working conditions.
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Norway: Workers’ Memorial Day – helse og sikkerhet må inkluderes i ILOs kjernekonvensjoner

I norsk arbeidsliv er det høye krav til sikkerhet og tydelig uttalt at alle har rett til forsvarlig arbeidsmiljø. Globalt står millioner av arbeidstakere uten tilsvarende rettigheter. Unio støtter kravet om globale HMS-retningslinjer. #IWMD21

Workers’ Memorial Day – helse og sikkerhet må inkluderes i ILOs kjernekonvensjoner

Global: “On #IWMD21, we remember the workers who are no longer with us” – UNI Global Union

ImageSee @CHoffmanUNI‘s full video ?https://t.co/SXyUh9uSh0 pic.twitter.com/QImXM804CF

#iwmd21 

Gibraltar FA marks International Workers’ Memorial Day

ImageOn International Workers Memorial Day we remember the dead and continue to fight for the living #IWMD21 pic.twitter.com/zreinPhfG9

Global: International Memorial Workers Day: Remember the dead, fight for the living – IFJ

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a brutal impact on the health of all workers around the world, especially those frontline workers most exposed to the virus, including journalists. On International Workers Memorial Day, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) pays tribute to all media workers who have died from the virus and praises the enormous work of its affiliates, who have fought day in, day out to protect the health and safety of journalists all over the world.

Training and safety

When the global pandemic broke out, many media workers were forced to continue reporting from the front line with little or no information about the virus, proper training or equipment. Overnight, hundreds of thousands of journalists were risking their lives to continue informing people about the virus in a moment when, paradoxically, access to accurate and quality information was saving lives.

While many employers and governments ignored journalists’ status as essential workers, unions played a key role in putting journalists’ physical and psychological safety first.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Indonesia, published a Safety Protocol and helped to provide all its members with safety material such as masks and hand sanitizers.Similar actions were taken by IFJ affiliates all over the world: from the ANP (Perú) and APES (El Salvador) in Latin America, to the PJS in Palestine and JUADN in Greece, taking  action to provide key safety equipment and health insurances for media workers.

Training media workers to protect themselves from the virus has also been fundamental to saving lives. For example, Somalia with one of the weakest health systems in the world, has experienced high numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The  NUSOJ and IOM COVID-19 reporting handbook for Somali journalists provided key information about how journalists can minimise chances of contracting Covid.

Many unions launched their own safety protocols while calling on the national authorities to make sure that media employers were guaranteeing Covid-safe newsrooms. Unfortunately, this has not been always the case. For example, in some newsrooms in Pakistan, employers forced workers to continue working and going to the newsroom after testing positive, putting themselves and the rest of the staff at serious risk of infection.

Humanitarian aid

While fighting the health crisis was the first priority of the pandemic, trade unions also had to rapidly deal with the social and in many cases humanitarian crisis suffered by their members.

Once again, union solidarity made a difference to help the most vulnerable journalists, especially those who work as freelancers and had no social benefits, to move forward.

There have been many gestures of solidarity from trade unions, even in those countries where the pandemic situation was critical and out of control. The KUJ in Kenya, mobilized resources to help those most in need. APES in El Salvador, delivered basic food baskets to journalists working for small local newspapers suffering the hardest part of the crisis.

“APES help came at the right time.They brought us food, they gave us biosafety equipment that was extremely difficult to find by that timeand that’s how we were able to move forward” said Salvadorian journalist Yaneth Estrada, journalist for Diario Co Latino, in a video recorded for the IFJ.

Journalists are essential workers and we must be treated as such

While it remains difficult to determine the exact number of media workers who have died from the virus worldwide and whether they have been infected while working or somewhere else, it’s easy to acknowledge that hundreds of thousands of journalists have risked their lives informing the public during the pandemic. That is to say: they are essential workers and should be treated as such within the ongoing vaccination campaigns.

This has been widely understood by the IFJ affiliates, who have made significant gains to push the authorities to recognize media workers’ role and their exposure to the virus while reporting. The IJS in Iraq managed to get journalists put on the list of priority groups who are being vaccinated now. The same success was recorded in Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and in some regions in Brazil.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “Today our thoughts go out to all the journalists killed by Covid-19, their families, friends and colleagues. Also with all our affiliates, who have fought to protect the health and lives of their members even in the most difficult situations. It is imperative that governments act and include journalists in the priority vaccination groups to prevent further deaths in our profession.”

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries

Follow the IFJ on TwitterFacebook and Instagram

Subscribe to IFJ News

Asia-Pacific: 1.8 million workers in #Asia die every year from occupational diseases and accidents

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Remember the dead, fight for the living! #SaveLivesAtWork #IWMD21 pic.twitter.com/zBU5o4OV23

Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living