The International Day of Mourning – 28 April – is recognized worldwide as a day to remember workers who have died from workplace incidents or disease.
The International Labor Organization marks the occasion as World Day for Safety and health at Work to focus attention on promoting and creating a culture of safety at work and to help reduce the number of work-related deaths.
Each year tripartite events take place around the world with an over-arching theme of a safety and health culture.
Construction, mining and forestry workers most likely to be seriously injured or killed at work
A worker is seriously injured or dies every six minutes in the construction, mining and forestry sectors, a rate that is 50 per cent higher than for all other industries combined.
That’s the stark message of a new campaign “Stand up. Speak out. Come Home.”, launched today (Monday) highlighting the importance of speaking up about the dangers of working in some of Australia’s least safe industries. The campaign features real life stories of lives lost and workers incapacitated in construction, mining and forestry jobs.
Four workers and family members featuring in the campaign were joined at a service in Canberra today by ACTU President, Ged Kearney, and CFMEU National Secretary Michael O’Connor. The service was held to commemorate the 28th of April, International Workers’ Memorial Day.
“Last year, 91 workers died in sectors our members work in – including 19 in construction, and ten in mining. This year, 23 workers have already died in these sectors. Just this month we tragically lost two miners in the Hunter Valley,” Michael O’Connor said.
“One of the most dangerous jobs you can have is as a construction labourer. They are killed at four times the rate of workers in all other jobs.
“Too often, many workers feel they can’t speak out, or stand up to their employer – with devastating consequences. That’s why unions are vital. We will always take a stand so that workers can come home safely to what matters most.
“But our ability to stand up for safety is compromised by Federal Government witch-hunts on unions.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-28/mines-rescue-truckjpg/5414474
Source: ABC News Online – Hunter miners remembered
Miners Jamie Mitchell and Phillip Grant were killed earlier this month when a wall at the Austar mine, near Cessnock, caved in.
Mines Rescue general manager Paul Healy says the industry’s workers, managers and regulators must ensure safety is the priority.
“The Day of Mourning is, again, to make sure that we don’t let complacency rule the way we think,” he said.
“Complacency is our biggest enemy today.
“We’ve become used to an industry that has apparently eliminated all the risks, but we haven’t.
“They’re still there, they need to be controlled, they need to be managed, they need to be thought about as part of the daily work cycle.”
Mr Healy says no one can become complacent in the workplace.
“It’s incumbent upon all parties involved – that’s the workers, management and regulators – to ensure that safety is part of everyday work,” he said.
“It’s part of what we do before we start work, during work, and on review and on completion.
