Tomorrow, 28 April 2010, is the International Day of Mourning, a remembrance day for those who have died at work. In Australia most of the focus will be on the memorial event in Sydney as the majority of trade union leaders are in the city for the ACTU Organising Conference. This has the potential to leave events in other capital cities muted as second string trade union leaders are likely to host events.
Tasmania’s trade union movement has chosen to replace a fixed geographic event with a mini-event in workplaces. Its poster is on the right. Workers are encouraged to
- “Wear a wristband as a sign of respect to those who have died at work
- Hold a minute’s silence in remembrance”
A list of Workers’ Memorial Day events in Australia is available through the ACTU website.
The International Labour Organisation has posted a video message (RealPlayer format) from Seiji Machida, Director of the Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment, in acknowledgement of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Machida speaks specifically of the risks associated with nanotechnology, biological risks, ageing and the proper assessment of psychosocial factors. He also mentions employment trends for women and the need for greater OHS support for migrant workers.
A slide show in support of Seiji Machida’s video message is available at HERE.
As Australia is one of the first countries to experience the International Day of Mourning each year it is expected that a more complete picture of the events elsewhere in the world will not be possible for a couple of days.
If you have any details of the special event that you attended please send an email to SafetyAtWorkBlog.
The Don Gage Memorial Walk commemorates the lives lost due to suicide as a direct result of the workplace of the WorkCover system. The Don Gage Memorial walk starts in front of WorkCover SA -100 Waymouth Street Adelaide- and goes to the Deceased Workers Memorial Forest in Bonython Park of off Park Tce at Bowden. The Walk starts at 11.30am.
At 12.30pm Members and Guests of Work Injured Resource Connection will plant 15 trees in memory of lives lost for the calendar year 2009, plus extra commemorative trees for loss of life due to illness and disease as a result of the workplace, suicide, loss of life due to the transport industy and loss of life of a overseas or inter-state worker.
At 1pm after a minutes silence we will release balloons also in memory of lives lost.
There are no political speeches, no blaming or shaming of any one, just totally respect for the families and the lives of the lost workers.
It should be noted that when the last tree is planted tomorrow we will have planted 140 trees and ground covers since 2003.
Each one of the trees and ground covers represents a broken family.
The Deceased Workers Memorial Forest -to the best of our knowledge- is the only one of its type in the world. Each year we just add more trees and each year we pray that the following year there will be less trees or even better, no trees to plant.
People can gain more information on 08 8410 0121 or 0414 345 322.
Yours in service
Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson
Founder
Work Injured Resource Connection