BWI/UOCRA One week dedicated to Health and Safety at Work Update from BWI. Following up the BWI Global Campaign for this coming April 28th: "Unions make work safer: A Death, a Strike", the Argentinean Building Workers Union, UOCRA, devotes an entire week of work about education and accident prevention at work places. UOCRA has made clear its strong position to maintain and deepen all actions of union struggle, facing the nowadays challenges with more and better jobs, fighting for decent work rights. more

For this 28th April, several activities will be organised by Argentinean trade unions. Here’s a short list:

CGT The Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) will organise a variety of actions, including union meetings in workplaces, the distribution of awareness raising materials on the impact bad occupational health and safety has on workers’ lives, the inclusion of a 28th April banner in all CGT affiliates’ websites, and the distribution of a 28th April poster.

For more information on CGT Argentina actions for 28th April, please contact Marta Pujadas

CTA The Central de los Trabajadores de la Argentina (CTA), will introduce in a public audience in the Parliament, their proposal for a new law on workplace violence, which will include also issues related to intrinsic violence related to precarious work. More information on the union proposal can be found here

For more information, you can contact: Jorge Yabkowskior • Marcelo Fiscina 

The Central de Trabajadores de la Argentina (CTA) through its members C.T.E.R.A. (Education), A.G.T.S.y P.(Subway), SUTEBA (Education), SUTNA (tyres), FOETRA (telecommunications) and FETIA (Industry). They will all coordinate a panel on occupational health and safety in the framework of the ‘Risks at work’ week, which will take place in Tecnopolis – a major exhibition taking place in Buenos Aires. They will deal with issues such as outsourcing, working conditions in the education sector, and challenges related to negotiating about health and safety.

For more information, you can contact Francisco Ledesma

ACTU Stop rolling back life-saving regulations The rate of work injuries and deaths in the workplace will increase - bringing loss and heartbreak to families and communities - should life-saving regulations be rolled back nationally as they have been in Queensland. more

UNIONS TASMANIA Unions call for on ministers to maintain and improve the current workplace health and safety laws in Tasmania. more

CFMEU AUSTRALIA: Stand Up. Speak out. Come home.

The Construction, mining and forestry union CFMEU is launching a new campaign on Monday, 28 April called “Stand up. Speak out. Come Home.”

The campaign will tell the real life stories of what happens when workers are unable to speak out about dangers at work. It will show the vital role of the union in taking a stand, and why this is under attack by governments and employers.

The launch kicks off with television ads shown on Sky News starting Sunday, 27th. You can view them on YouTube here and here It features workers and families from across our three divisions of the union.

A launch event is being held in Canberra at noon on Monday 28 April, on International Workers’ Memorial Day. Accompanying the launch, the campaign website is live Monday www.standupspeakout.org.au, as well as facebook page and the global hashtag for the day is ‪#‎IWMD14‬. The launch on of the campaign on International Workers Memorial Day will both mourn the dead, but also fight for the living, in coming months sharing more stories on what unions means on health and safety and shining a light on employers who cut corners on safety and governments that are trying to muzzle unions and gut health and safety agencies.

ACTU Unions put real people’s stories at the heart of events in Australia

For this 28th April, the Australian Congress of Trade Unions (ACTU) has launched its Workers Memorial Day events and materials page with this personal story from a work colleague

Events include memorial services in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide. Materials for the day and event listings are listed here

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance has also produced this video and resource encouraging members on Workers Memorial Day to Elect a Health and Safety Representative to 'Fight for the Living'

For more information on ACTU activities, please contact Margot Hoyte

NSW Unions in New South Wales have organised a International Day of Mourning Service on 28 April to honour those who have lost their lives at work. more

OSHE Chemicals in theworkplace kill 63 people in three months

At least 63 people were killed in Bangladesh in last three months by the toxic chemicals used at workplace, said a survey conducted by Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) more

BBWWF OHS Seminar for key union leaders at Dhaka.

BSBWWF OHS Training Workshop for organisers / district committee members at Narayangonj.

BBWWF & BSBWWF (Jointly) Press Conference highlighting plight of migrant workers (especially those going to Qatar) at Dhaka Submission of Joint Petition on Workers’ Issues to Qatar Embassy at Dhaka.

Bangladeshi trade unions, activists and families of Rana Plaza victims, along with the international trade union movement will be mobilised between 24th April, one year after the Rana Plaza disaster, which killed more than 1130 garment workers, and the 28th April, International Commemoration Day of dead and injured workers.
See release from Industri-All and UNI Action on Bangladesh

See video statement from Sharan Burrow

Events on Workers Memorial Day 2014 in Bangladesh would start from 24 April (one year Anniversary of Rana Plaza disaster) and end with the final activities on 28 April (International Workers Memorial Day).

24 April 2014: 1 Year Anniversary of Rana Plaza Disaster
The Bangladesh Free Trade Unions Congress (BFTUC) will pay tribute at Temporary Monument, Rana Plaza Premises, Savar towards all death workers of Rana Plaza, 09am, 24 April 2014. A trade union-led demonstration in front Rana Plaza premises will be organised at 11am carrying the demand for acceptable compensation for affected workers and their families and immediate settlement of it.

The Rana Plaza & Tajreen Fashions Accident Victim Rights Network (RP&TF-AVRN) will organise a special victim convention of Rana Plaza Survivors on 24 April 2014 at Top Class Party Centre, Savar (10am) in the occasion of 1 Year Anniversary of Rana Plaza Industrial Homicide. Expected participants include injured workers and members of affected families of Garments at Rana Plaza.

Between 24 and 27 April, a campaign video show and discussion on due compensation and welfare schemes for Rana Plaza Victims, entitled “Growth With Tears”, and produced by the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE), will be screened at different industrial areas of Dhaka and Chittagong to mobilize the union members  with focusing workplace safety situation at garments factories and urgency of settlement of due legal compensation for Rana Plaza  victims.

 The video can be watched here: Growth with Tears

On 28 April 2014, the Bangladesh Free Trade Unions Congress (BFTUC) and its members will mobilise throughout the Bangladesh along with workers, community members, local officials and relatives of victims of workplace-related deaths and injuries, sharing stories of injured workers and relatives of workers who have lost their lives on the job and renewing the fight for more stronger regulations and protections for all working people.

On 5 November 2013, Government of Bangladesh has officially approved the “National Occupational Safety & Health Policy 2013” and at clause no. 4 Ka (2) officially recognised 28 April as National Occupational Health & Safety Day in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) will organise national tripartite seminar on “Safe Workplace for all: stronger regulations and protections for all working people”, National Press Club VIP Lounge, 28 April 2014 (10am to 4 pm).  

Representative from different government agencies,   national trade union centres, employer associations, labour rights NGOS will attend emphasizing the crucial role played by trade unions on strong regulation and effective enforcement in securing safer job and making greener workplaces.

For more information on activities for this 28th April, please contact with AR Chowdhury REPON, Acting General Secretary - BFTUC & Executive Director - OSHE.

AVC/CSC For this 28th April, Belgian trade union center ACV/CSC will distribute leaflets with information on accidents at work and calling for a safer workplace. The leaflet contains stickers that workers can put on dangerous situations at work and we ask them to talk about this with their representatives. We also invite them to take pictures of these dangerous situations and to send these pictures to our specially prepared facebook page

The union has also prepared materials with statistics on accidents at work, deficits in labour inspectorates and insufficient compensation. This is accompanied by a memorandum for the new government (to be elected on May 25th).

On Monday, ACV/CSC will visit a large number of candidates for the elections of the European Parliament. They will be asking them to join the campaign against the REFIT-program of the European Commission. (www.rethinkrefit.eu ). REFIT stops every initiative on European level for a better health and safety legislation and ignores collective agreements on health and safety in several European sectors.

For more information on ACV/CSC events for this 28th April, please contact Kris Van Eyck

FETICOM -SC/NCSTSC/MOVIDA "Work to live, not to die"

In commemoration of April 28th, the Federation of Building and Furniture Workers from Santa Catarina State (FETICOM -SC), joins to the Public Act convened by its Central in Brazil: New Trade Union of Workers of Santa Catarina (NCSTSC) and MOVIDA, Movement in Defense of Health, Safety and Quality Life of the Working Class of Santa Catarina.

With the motto: "Work to live, not to die", this Public Ceremony in memory of victims of diseases and accidents at work, will be held in Joinville, Santa Catarina. Its main objective is to reduce accidents and diseases at workplaces during this year, but mainly, making a public denunciation of the unfortunate events in the construction until today.

This April 28th, the concentration will begin in the Recreational headquarters of the Union of Commerce from Joinville, and soon after, a hike will take place to the City Hall (Governmental Office) to deliver a document to the authorities and employers with the claims and flags of the union movement in this topic.

The mobilization in defense of health at work continuous! more

FETRACONSPAR Perfecting the field of health and safety at work

As part of the activities planned for the year 2014, the Federation of Workers of Constructions Industries and Furniture from Paraná State (FETRACONSPAR), will be conducting the V Enhancement Seminar on Health and Safety at Work, on April 24th and 25th, at Curitiba, Paraná. This series of seminars has as main objective to celebrate the upcoming April 28th: Day when we commemorate those workers who have suffered occupational accidents, diseases or other permanent disability because of the daily work at their workplaces.

Also known April 28th as the commemoration day of Health and Safety at Work, FETRACONSPAR, one of our members in Brazil, is planning to perfecting their workers in this topic. The seminar will accept a maximum of 3 union leaders for each organization member of FETRACONSPAR. Affiliated members will be admitted and union officials.

In this important Seminar, FETRACONSPAR will give the opportunity, on April 24th to make a Panel where participants will exhibit the work unions developed in the field of Health and Safety at Work to date. 
Again, the construction unions in Brazil show their power by developing activities for the benefit of their colleagues. More

BRASIL Dia mundial em memória das vítimas de acidentes e doenças do trabalho More

For this 28th April, Brazilian trade union centers CGTB, CTB, CUT, FORÇA SINDICAL, NCST and UGT have decided to mobilise around a specific OHS theme: work harassment and institutional violence. Across the country, trade unions will be organising rallies and events, showing their commitment to defend the victims of a production process which prioritises profits against the protection of people’s life and dignity. For the full description of the unions’ call for action, please read the portuguese version below. For more information on this event, please contact Ismael Gianeri UGT.

Em todo o mundo milhões de trabalhadores se acidentam e centenas de milhares morrem no exercício do trabalho a cada ano. No Brasil, os números também são impressionantes.
Contudo, os dados representam apenas uma pequena parte da realidade, pelos motivos a seguir:

Os números apresentados pelo governo brasileiro referem-se unicamente aos trabalhadores registrados pelo regime celetista (forma de contratação de profissional), pois os servidores públicos possuem sistema de previdência a parte (outra forma de contratação, diferenciada), não recebendo benefícios do INSS (Instituto Nacional de Previdência Social), de cuja base de dados são extraídos os números.

Outro fato que contribui para o conhecimento de apenas uma parte da realidade é que, apesar da legislação brasileira determinar que as empresas notifiquem as ocorrências de acidentes e doenças do trabalho com a emissão da Comunicação de Acidente de Trabalho (CAT), os empregadores descumprem sistematicamente essa exigência, principalmente quando se tratam de doenças do trabalho.

Por sua vez, o aumento dos acidentes e das doenças do trabalho, resultantes da gestão e da organização da produção, faz com que o país gaste bilhões em recursos públicos com assistência médica, benefícios por incapacidade temporária ou permanente e pensões por morte de trabalhadores vítimas das más condições de trabalho. Além disso, vale ressaltar que o adoecimento afeta a vida dos trabalhadores não apenas do ponto de vista econômico mas também do ponto de vista social e profissional.

Diante deste contexto, as centrais sindicais brasileiras: CGTB, CTB, CUT, FORÇA SINDICAL, NCST E UGT, que tradicionalmente marcam o 28 de Abril com a realização de atividades sobre um tema específico relacionado às questões que afetam a saúde e a integridade física e psicológica dos trabalhadores, estão adotando os temas do assédio moral no trabalho e da violência organizacional.

Por todo o território nacional as entidades sindicais estarão realizando manifestações sobre esses e outros temas lembrando as inúmeras vítimas desse processo cruel que coloca a produção e o lucro acima da proteção da vida e da integridade das pessoas.

Para mas informação, contatar-se com Ismael Gianeri, UGT.

CLC Think Workplace Fatalities are a Thing of the Past? Together, we have made progress but we must keep fighting for safer workplaces more

Press Progress Nearly 19 workers will die on the job this week more

Rabble.ca There is a monument on Front Street in Toronto. It is called 100 Workers. There are one hundred plaques for one hundred workers that died in the last century in Canada. It is a fiction. One hundred workers died last month....

CLC Trade unions will call on government to enforce law and prosecute OSH violations.

For this April 28, the Canadian Labour Congress has already identified more than one hundred public events across Canada, in big cities and small towns alike, where commemorations will take place.

The CLC is also calling on organisers to incorporate calls for all levels of government to do more to enforce existing health and safety laws and vigorously prosecute violations when a worker is killed or seriously injured. The 2014 Day of Mourning messaging will focus on three points:

• The labour movement works to make all workplaces safe.
• Unions are working to make corporations accountable.
• Governments must help by prosecuting negligent employers.

On April 28 we mourn those who have died. However, the deaths of these workers are also a reminder that all levels of government must do more to enforce our health and safety laws and vigorously prosecute violations when a worker is killed or seriously injured. It is time for fair and equal treatment before the law for workplace injuries and deaths.

Infographics
English Image • PDF

Day of Mourning Statement
English • Francais

For more information on CLC activities for this April 28, please contact Andrea Peart

CSN Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) from Quebec will wear a black ribbon to commemorate workers who have lost their lives or get injured at work, and at 10am will organise a minute of silence in their memory.

The national assembly will have its flag half-mast on 28th April following a demand from quebecois trade unions. Unions will be highlighting the risks related to precarious work, as according to a vast survey, precarious workers are more hit by occupational hazards.

Unions will maintain their call bipartite occupational health and safety committees in all workplaces, and additional time for prevention. For more information on CSN activities for this 28th April, please contact Judith Carroll

FRANÇAIS: Tout comme l’année dernière, le 28 avril sera marqué par la mise en berne du drapeau du Québec à l’Assemblée nationale.

Par ailleurs, les membres de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) sont invités à porter un ruban noir, pour commémorer les travailleuses et les travailleurs morts ou blessés du travail. De plus, dans tous nos milieux de travail, à 10 heures, une minute de silence sera observée afin de permettre à tout le monde de se souvenir des conséquences des accidents du travail et des maladies professionnelles.

En plus de souligner particulièrement les décès liés au transport, nous souhaitons par nos actions, attirer l’attention sur les risques d’accidents ou de maladies du travail importants qu’encourent les travailleuses et les travailleurs à statut précaire. D’après une vaste enquête québécoise ces derniers subissent davantage de contraintes liées au travail que les autres catégories de travailleurs. Une de nos grandes préoccupations, la santé psychologique au travail, continue de se détériorer et nous entendons agir pour endiguer ce problème. Parmi nos revendications, soulignons aussi la mise en place de comités paritaires de santé et de sécurité dans tous les milieux de travail. Tout comme nous exigeons toujours un encadrement légal pour avoir plus de temps alloué à la prévention dans les milieux de travail.

Pour plus d'informations sur les activités au Québec pour ce 28 avril, veuillez s'il vous plaît communiquer avec Mme Judith Carroll par courriel ou consulter le site Internet de la CSN dédié exclusivement à cette journée de commémoration à: www.28avril.org

FETRACOMA/CTF The National Federation of Construction Workers, Industrial Assembly and others from Chile (FETRACOMA) conducted a national mobilization for April 28th in conjunction with the Central Union CUT Chile. Also in Chile, the National Confederation of Forestry Workers (CTF) led a Public Announcement to the press and trade unions on the importance of accident prevention. The same day delivered leaflets on this subject in the center of the city of Concepcion. more

FETRAMECOL The Federation of Workers in the Stell, Electricity and Mechanical Engineering Industries in Colombia (FETRAMECOL) brought workers at its headquarters in Bogotá to exchange successful experiences in preventing accidents and seek mechanisms to appropriate the provisions in the current legislation. more

CDT Unions will take stock of OHS committees’ reports
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
(Français en dessous)

For this 28th April, the Confédération Démocratique du Travail "CDT" will organise a day long seminar aimed at studying the reports from their workplace-based OHS committees on the situation of OHS at work. These reports will be analysed by the general secretaries of the different union federations in the country.

For more information on CDT activities for this April 28, please contact Joséphine Isabelle MATAMBA KAPINGA
cdtrdcongo@yahoo.fr

CDT Les syndicats analysent les rapports de leurs CHSCT

En commémoration de la journée du 28 Avril 2014, la Confédération Démocratique du Travail CDT organise à sa bourse du travail une journée d'études d'évaluation des rapports d'enquête pour l'état des lieux des comités d'Hygiène et Sécurité dans les entreprises de toute nature avec les secrétaires généraux des fédérations professionnelles constitutives de notre organisation syndicale.

Pour plus d’information sur les activités de la CDT, veuillez contacter Joséphine Isabelle MATAMBA KAPINGA cdtrdcongo@yahoo.fr

UNATROPYT and SUNTRACS Public and private sector strike for safety on 28 April

As part of the protest struggle for Safety and Health at workplaces, Costa Rican unions affiliated to the BWI will be heard this coming April 28th.

The National Unitary Trade Union of Construction Workers and Related (SUNTRACS), who represent the private construction sector in Costa Rica and the National Union of Public Works and Transport (UNATROPYT), representatives of public works construction the same country, unite in demonstration of the Occupational Safety at work.

UNATROPYT will leader a strike for one hour in a workplace located near the province of Heredia, Costa Rica.

While, at the same time, the SUNTRACS will stop work on both floors of Incesa Standard Company, the only company from Incesa/American Chain Company of Central America that is unionized. 

Corresponding this company to the private construction sector (who provide building materials), Incesa Standard is located in Uruca, San Jose, and will be stopped 10 minutes in the morning.

Both unions aim with these strikes have meetings with workers and short talks about the importance of Health and Safety at workplaces.

In addition to this effort, both unions collectively will deliver a letter to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Costa Rica (MTSS) and the Costa Rican Chamber of Construction (CCC) in order to file a complaint of those workplaces where it has violated the Occupational Safety. Similarly, this document intended serve as initial lobbie for ratification of ILO Conventions 162 and 167.

In turn, the letter intended to be as well, a mean for opening the first national dialogue in relation to the reduction of the weight of cement bags in Costa Rica to 25 kilos.

The trade union movement is fighting for Occupational Safety again! more

UATUC For this 28th April, the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (UATUC) will organise an expert round table focusing on stress at the workplace. The meeting will be hold in Zagreb, at the UATUC premises, on Friday, 25 April and will gather experts from the Croatian Institute for Protection of Health and Safety at Work, members of the UATUC OSH Coordination, presidents of the affiliated trade unions, shop stewards and OSH reps, occupational doctors and other (independent) experts.

On this occasion, the UATUC will also distribute information material (leaflets, brochures, posters etc.) on OSH and stress at workplace.

For more information on UATUC activities for this 28th April, please contact Dijana Šobota

DENMARK Unions take the global campaign to national embassies

The construction unions have decided to go to the embassies of countries who have low paid workers in Denmark, asking for their interest in these citizens, and ending the demonstration in front of the Copenhagen EU office.

There will be a meeting on the evening of 28 April at Fagbladets Village Hall , Sommervej 5 8210 Aarhus, Denmark about Rana Plaza. Journalist Peter Rasmussen and photographer Søren Zeuth have been in Bangladesh for Fagbladet3F (trade union magazine) and setting the stage for debate with a story in words and pictures.

FENTICOMMC ACTIVIDADES PROGRAMADAS EN EL MARCO DEL DIA MUNDIAL DE LA SEGURIDAD Y SALUD EN EL TRABAJO, “DÍA DE LA JORNADA INTERNACIONAL DE CONMEMORACIÓN (JIC)” PARA EL 28 DE ABRIL/2014
Marcha al Palacio de la Presidencia Nacional, organizada por la FENTICOMMC (Nuestra federación afiliada de trabajadores/as de la construcción), en demanda de mayor regulación, protección de los trabajadores/as de este sector.
Manifestación Frente al Ministerio de Trabajo , y entrega de documento a la Ministra donde se le presenta una serie de demandas y reclamos en referencia a la aplicación de la ley laboral y el reglamento de Higiene y seguridad.

FENTICOMMC ACTIVITIES PLANNED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE DAY WORLD OF SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK, "DAY OF THE COMMEMORATION (JIC) INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE" FOR THE 28 OF APRIL 2014 There will be a march to the Presidential palace, organised by the construction union federation FENTICOMMC, to demand better regulation and protection of employees in this sector. There will also be a demonstration opposite the Ministry of Labour, and delivery to the Minister of a series of demands and complaints concerning the application of labour law and occupational health and safety regulation.

SOICSCES Getting the occupational safety message on the airwaves

This year, the Union of Workers in the Construction and Allied Industries from El Salvador (SOICSCES) leads the trade union struggle to Health and Safety at the workplace to the national radio.

Prior to April 28th of this year, SOISCES has made short assemblies where construction workers are affiliated. These assemblies have had duration of 10 minutes each, and its main purpose has been to sensitize their members on the issue of Occupational Safety and to remember the deceased and injured workers in their jobs.

These assemblies, coupled with the constant work nationally that SOICSCES develops throughout the year, have resulted in the Secretary General, the comrade Julio Flores, has been invited on April 28th to Radio Maya Vision El Salvador, to make an interview at 11:30 am about Safety at workplace. This interview on national radio, is an opportunity to make visible the great effort that the union movement is leading on this important issue.

Once again, the unions´ members of BWI take the struggle for Occupational Safety to all possible means in order to make it visible. More

FRANCE: Unions will join social partners to focus on chemical substances For this 28th April, French trade unions will join the ILO, employers and government representatives for a discussion on chemical substances. The meeting will be organised by the INRS in Paris. For more information on French unions activities for this April 28, please contact Henri Forest or Jean François Naton

A Tia I Mua This 28th April, the members of A Tia I Mua trade union will lay wreaths at Papeete war memorial (French Polynesia).The trade union will renew its call for the government to build a memorial for injured and dead workers in Papeete, along with a demand to better protect workers from accidents and illness.

Les syndicats de Polynésie Française déposeront une gerbe aux monuments aux morts le Lundi 28 Avril, en souvenirs des travailleurs blessés, ou morts sur leur lieu de travail. Les syndicats ont invité les autorités de l'Etat Français ainsi que les autorités du gouvernement de Polynésie Française, à participer à cette manifestation et marquer ainsi leur soutien aux travailleurs pour que ceux-ci soient mieux protégés sur leur lieux de travail sur les accidents.

For more information on A Tia I Mua activities for this 28th April, please contact Tu Yan, tu.yan@atiaimua.pf

BWI Der Toten gedenken – für die Lebenden kämpfen Am Montag 28. April 2014 gedenken wir in Berlin in einem Gottesdienst um 18:00 Uhr in der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche. mehr

IG BAU German construction workers’ union (IG BAU), will organize several events across the country. In Berlin, they will organize seminars dealing with asbestos (“asbestos still a killer?”)and dust (dust – a dangerous and underrated material”).

A worship will also be organized in church Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche.

Similar activities are also planned in Stuttgart. 

For more information on IG BAU activities for this 28th April, please contact Nadine Weimer

A brief report from Dave Smith "Just back from Gibraltar where Workers Memorial Day & May Day have both been made full public holidays by the Socialist government led by Fabian Picardo Huge crowds at the Unite events."

SINCS -G Concentration and take of streets for Occupational Safety

Central America becomes big defending Security and Safety at workplaces, this time with the participation of our union affiliated: Construction and Service Workers’ Union (SINCS -G) from Guatemala.

In order to fight for the integration of a Task Force to monitor the pertinent compliance of 167 ILO Convention about Safety and Health in Construction, ratified in Guatemala but not yet implemented in the country; promote compliance of Article 202 of the Labor Code of Guatemala where it regulates the weight of sacks of cement, sand and hydrated lime; commemorate the National Day of Occupational Safety (Guatemala is one of the only countries that recognized through a ministerial agreement April 28th as a national day); request the necessary reforms to Government Decision 57, only legal document that regulates the Occupational Safety in Guatemala and make action outside the offices of the Brazilian company Odebrecht to recognize the union at its workplaces, the SINCS -G of Guatemala has planned for this April 28th a massive rally and taking of streets at the entrance to Tiquisate, Escuintla, Guatemala.

SINCS-G is organizing the mobilization of between 500-1000 workers belonging to different branches and sectors, with the aim of spreading their goals using blankets, posters and stickers.This activity is coordinated with Guatemalan businessmen who also want to be hired by the company Odebrecht.

As a main result, a document will be delivered to Odebrecht Company to request initiation of bilateral negotiations. This activity is expected to promote the legal regulation and practice of Occupational Safety in the country, not only in conjunction with the union but also with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health CONASSO from Guatemala.

FENATCO While in the multilingual Caribbean, the National Federation of Construction Workers from Haiti (FENATCO) developed its first seminar in memory of the deceased workers and/or injured in construction. At the same time they held a press conference for 2 days about April 28th. more

Hong Kong Protests marked 28 April in Hong Kong view pictures here

LIGA A LIGA Szakszervezetek Belgrád-rakparton megtartott eseményén felállítottuk a munkabalesetben elhunyt ismeretlen munkavállaló sírját, amely egy ásóból, fejszéből és munkavédelmi sisakból készített kereszt, és egy betonoszlopra magasnyomású vízzel készített emléktábla.

MSZOSZ On April 28 2014 the National Confederation of Hungarian Trade Unions / MSZOSZ and its affiliates is organising a national conference with the attendance of workplace safety representatives, trade union shop stewards, secretaries, employers' OSH responsible and representatives of the labour and safety authority. The "Safe and healthy work for all" conference will also be attended by scholars and researchers.

The fact that April 28 has been declared by the Hungarian Parliament as the official remember day also helps to focus the attention of the public opinion to the problems and achievements in this field.

MSZOSZ and its affiliates will also call for a national OSH strategy - as Hungary is the single country in the European Union without any such policy framework; at the same time we will demand the publication of the EU OSH strategy for the 2014 - 2020 period. Workers' health and safety cannot be hostage to the REFIT strives!

On the invitation of the MSZOSZ OSH committee, at 20.00 pm. the traditional lighting of memorial candles will take place at the Memorial of Injured and Killed Workers - a statute erected at a formal industrial site by the MSZOSZ Foundation. All Hungarian trade unions have been invited to join us - to strengthen union and safety representatives’ cooperation for the wellbeing of workers.

For further information: Károly György +3630 9211189

LIGA The Hungarian Democratic League of independent Trade Unions, LIGA, will organise a two-day conference and a course on workplace health- and safety.
On April 28th, the first day of the conference, trade union youth representatives will organize a flashmob on the Danube shore where they build a spectacular memorial in the shape of a cross as symbol of the injured and killed workers.

In the evening, representatives of LIGA will visit the Memorial of Injured and Killed Workers in Hungary together with the members of the National Health- and Safety Committee, employees’ and employers’ organizations and health- and safety representatives of different companies as well as with members of NGOs, in order to promote the urgent need of creating safe and healthy workplaces. LIGA stands for its belief, that health- and safety should be an integrated part of labour-market policies independent from politics at all times. LIGA is ready to tackle these challenges together with all the trade union confederations in Hungary.

For more information on LIGA activities for this 28th April, please contact Eszter Labancz

TCWF Tamil Nadu union TCWF calls on 28 April for action to safeguard migrant workers’ rights more

IndustriALL Why we must always remember and always organise
On 28 April, a 32-year old contract worker, who had been with the ACC-Holcim plant at Jamul, India, for ten years, was crushed to death by a falling tree. The workplace accident occurred while gathering firewood for the coal mill. more

KKNTC Candle light procession on migrant workers’ rights at Cochin (Kerala State) Press Conference on Migrant Workers at Cochin (Kerala State)

TCWF Press Conference on Issues and Problems of Migrant Workers (focus on Qatar) at Chennai (Tamil Nadu State) Candle light vigil commemoration for dead migrant workers at Chennai (Tamil Nadu State)

TKTMS OHS Seminar for Migrant Workers engaged at Chennai Metro Rail Project at Chennai (Tamil Nadu State) Submission of Ban Asbestos Memorandum to District Magistrate of Coimbatore district (Tamil Nadu State)

PMLU Migrant workers meeting followed by a Press Conference at Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh State)

DANMU Safety awareness and workers welfare board registration camp; Joint OHS Committee Meeting and candle light vigil at Larsen Toubro housing construction site at Delhi

MAMU OHS Awareness at large infrastructure site at Delhi BNKMU “Rolling Rights” Campaign on OHS in Lucknow (capital of Uttar Pradesh State)

BMS Press Conference to Launch of Documentary Film – Voice of Victims at Vadodara (Gujarat State) Workers Public Meeting in collaboration with Workers Health and Safety Net at Vadodara (Gujarat State)

KSCWCU OHS Training for Bengaluru Metro Rail Workers (Karnataka State)

BHOPAL Bhopal 30 years on - still fighting for justice, International Workers' Memorial Day 2014 You are asked to remember the 25,000 Bhopalis who died as a result of the 1984 gas disaster, or are affected by the groundwater contamination from the same Union Carbide factory, and are invited to send a message of support to the survivors who continue in their struggle for justice. Send messages of support and photos, or video, of your message being read at your Workers’ Memorial Day event for inclusion on this page. Then visit later to see your message read aloud at a special memorial event taking place in Bhopal for IWMD. Please send your message, along with any other relevant details of your event, or organisation, to: admin@bhopal.org • Further details • 28 April leaflet

GUJURAT Workers’ Health and Safety Network (WHSN) which counts with the involvement of trade unions and is facilitated by ANROAV, will organise protests outside the Town Hall and observe the International Workers’ Memorial Day.

In addition, a street play by organisations calling for people’s use of the NOTA option in the Indian elections (which means voting without choosing any of the candidates) will add a segment on OHS. 

For more information on these activities, please contact Jagdish Patel

Kahutindo Launching of union audit on OHS followed by a press conference at Semarang in Central Java

ICTU April 28th is International Workers’ Memorial Day and is used to remember those who have died, been injured or had their health damaged at work.

ICTU has traditionally held an event to mark the day and this year we will dedicate the terrace garden in the still relatively new headquarters of the Communication Workers Union in Dublin.

The event will run from 11.00 to 12.30. Congress General Secretary David Begg will unveil a commemorative plaque and we will have a number of short addresses on the theme that has been adopted (by the international TUC) this year which is 'Protecting workers around the world through strong regulation, enforcement and union rights'.

Speakers will include Martin O’Halloran, CEO of the Health & Safety Authority, Emer Costello MEP and a representative of EC-OSHA.

Further details

Irish Congress of Trade Unions
31/32 Parnell Square
Dublin 1
Ireland
T: +353 1 889 7777
F: +353 1 887 2012
W: www.ictu.ie

WAC-MAAN, the independent Trade Union Centre, considers the number of work-place accidents to be a direct consequence of this neglect and lack of regulation. more

CGIL/CISL/UIL For this 28th April, Italian national centres CGIL, CISL and UIL will run events calling for a national plan of action against asbestos targeting national, regional and local administrations.

The plan unions are calling for must have three objectives: health –unions demand the creation of specialised diagnosis and treatment centres for those exposed to asbestos; environment – unions call for the elimination of asbestos of all buildings and houses, starting with public ones; and social – an economic compensation for asbestos victims as well as their families.

Picket lines will be organised in regional and local administration offices in the biggest Italian cities, including Milano, Bologna, Genova and Napoli.
In Rome, a national tripartite conference will also be organised and will count with the involvement of the three national centres.

For more information, on Italian activities, please contact giuseppe.dercole@cisl.it

IUF/KUSPAW Unions will deepen their mobilisation for building strong OHS for sugar workers

The IUF Global Sugar Program and the Kenya Union of Sugar Plantation and Allied Workers (KUSPAW) have focused on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) matters since 2007. From April 22-25, meetings with union members have been scheduled in the sugar estates of Chemelil, Muhoroni, South Nyanza (SONY), West Kenya and Mumias; they will be an occasion to introduce KUSPAW’ OSH principles and Action Plan. On April 28, they will hold our main activity at the Nzoia Sugar Company, with a program that highlights the joint work to improve safety and health conditions in sugar and includes an awareness-raising demonstration.

More information is available in the IUF Global Sugar Programme

For more information on IUF/KUSPAW activities for this April 28, please contact Jorge Chullen

KOREA: Global construction union federation BWI affiliates in Korea stood up for safety on 28 April pictures

MGU For this 28th April, the Maltese General Workers’ Union will be organizing a seminar for shopstewards and safety reps. They will also issue a press release for the general public to commemorate 28th April. The press release will also be asking all institutions to fly their flags half mast as a tribute for those who lost their lives at work.

For more information on this event, please contact Joe Carabott jcarabott@gwu.org.mt

CNSM On 26 April 2013, the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM) will organize a round table on “Prevention of Occupational Diseases” with participation of social partners. Around 400 participants will discuss different issues and try to identify solutions in this field. The event also includes flyers’ distribution with regard to occupational diseases. 

Also, families of workers who died in the workplace in 2012 will receive financial support.

The trade union newspaper “People’s Voice” and local mass-media will disseminate information on CNSM’s activities for 28 April.
 
For more information on this event, please contact Nina ZGHIBARTA dep_international@yahoo.fr

BWI NAC (CUPPEC and CAWUN) Round Table Meeting to strategise union actions on the plight of Nepalese migrant workers going to Qatar. Kathmandu submission of joint letter to Prime Minister on union issues pertaining to rights of migrant workers in Kathmandu. Rally to raise awareness on migrant workers’ rights (including raising of BWI Red Cards) in Kathmandu.

GEFONT/UNITRAV Unions will mourn the death of the thirteen Sherpas on mount Everest

On April 28th, only ten days after thirteen sherpas lost their lives in what have become the worst tragedy on Everest, Nepalese trade union GEFONT, along with its Sherpa union federation UNITRAV, will organise an event to mourn comrades lost and focus on the occupational risks faced by sherpas.

UNITRAV lost vice president Dorje Khatri (above), a committed union environmental activists in the accident.

For more information on GEFONT/UNITRAV activities for this April 28, please contact GEFONT

Netherlands Jaarlijks sterven in NL 3000 mensen door hun werk. Vandaag herdenken we hen ‪#‎WorkersMemorialDay‬ ‪#‎IWMD14‬ picture

FNV For this Workers' Memorial Day, the Dutch national centre FNV will organise a conference on the issue of asbestos. Asbestos can be considered in the Netherlands as a cold killer. Every year some 900 - mostly retired - workers are killed by asbestos-related diseases.

More than 1.4 million tons of asbestos still have to be removed. While new, ambitious Legal Limit Values (or Binding Occupational Exposure Limit , BOEL’s) for asbestos exposure will be enforced, (the lowest BOEL s  for asbestos in the whole of Europe), unions believe this is not a guarantee for safe handling of asbestos. Without strengthened labour inspection, safe handling will not be assured.

Another question that will be discussed is that of the way financial compensation is organised in case of mesothelioma; in the Netherlands victims of this deadly disease receive 60.000 maximum, while in the UK a victim receive on the average some 180.000 Euros.

For more information on this event, please contact
Wim van Veelen

NEW ZEALAND Workers' Memorial Day march to Parliament more

Unions accuse minister of taking teeth out of forestry safety review more

NZCTU Unions will commemorate forestry workers killed at work, raise money for a 'justice fund' for those killed at work, and partake in a silent procession to Parliament in remembrance of those workers killed at work. Update by NZCTU

Tragic workplace deaths must be addressed, national union federation NZCTU says. tvnz.co.nz

SNSCAASC/CST - JBE Walk for key work safety priorities

As part of its 10 key work priorities, the National Union of Carpenters, Bricklayers, Shipowners and Allied Trade Unions, SNSCAASC from Nicaragua, will be developing Assemblies and meetings about Safety and Occupational Security in workplaces.

On the morning of April 28th, SNSCAASC be performing a one hour walk to Port Sandino. A talk about the risks of the Occupational Safety and Health and the responsibility of the Company to procure Safety construction projects will be the culminating action of this important date.

In addition to this initiative, in conjunction with the José Benito Escobar Trade Union Confederation (CST - JBE), with which SNSCAASC is affiliated nationwide, union members will be conducting an Assembly with more than 200 leaders at 3:00 pm on April 28th, in order to ratify the struggle for the defense of the Occupational Health and reaffirming the continued commitment to the struggle for Occupational Safety and Health, to influence and avoid disease, accidents and deaths in the workplace.

Another union of Central America which joins the commemoration of this upcoming April 28th, under the campaign: "Unions make work safer: A Death, A Strike!"

Always fighting to defend the health of our fellow workers and construction workers. more

NLC The Nigerian Labour Congress will join Government and Employers for three days of activities and commemorations around the country, with wide media publicity, advocacy visits, rallies in industrial estates, publication of a commemorative safety poster and a symposium to be held on 28th April in Abuja.

The Federal Ministry of Labour has equally directed that its state offices in the 36 States of Nigeria should also engage the stakeholders, including the state governments, for similar activities at the states' level. Consultative and collaborative meetings for planning these activities are being finalised

For more information on this event, please Maureen Onyia-Ekwuazi

LO Ingen skal dø på jobb

I Norge omkom 48 arbeidstakere på jobb i 2013. Dette er en økning med 9 omkomne fra året før. Etter en periode på 2000-tallet, med nedgang i antall arbeidsskadedødsfall i Norge, ser vi nå en økning de tre siste årene.

-Dette er en dyster utvikling, sier Peggy Hessen Følsvik.

Det er vanskelig å si noe generelt om årsaken til den negative utviklingen. I følge Arbeidstilsynet var det både i 2012 og 2013 ulykker hvor flere personer omkom i en hendelse. Fem av arbeidsskadedødsfallene er registrert i forbindelse med terrorhandlingene ved Statoils gassanlegg i In Amenas i Algerie. To av arbeidsskadedødsfallene skjedde i forbindelse med at en bro under støpning i Trondheim kollapset. Den ene omkomne arbeidet på anlegget og den andre kom kjørende i bil og ble klemt under brua.

Samtidig viser Arbeidstilsynets gransking av registrerte ulykker at ca 37 prosent blir klassifisert som " tap av kontroll av maskiner og utstyr" og at det ved ca halvparten av ulykkene ikke er gjennomført tilstrekkelig risikovurdering. I tillegg er manglende opplæring, feil bruk av maskiner og utstyr, alenearbeid, og vedlikeholdsarbeid sentrale årsaker til disse ulykkene.

-Her er det mye å ta tak i både for arbeidsgivere og myndigheter, sier Følsvik.

LO No one is going to die on the job

In Norway killed 48 workers on the job in 2013. This is an increase of 9 fatalities from the year before. After a period of the 21st century, with the decline in the number of work injury deaths in Norway, we are now seeing an increase over the last three years.

-This is a sad development, "said Peggy Hesse Følsvik.

It's hard to say something in General about the cause of the negative developments. According to the Labour Inspectorate was in both the 2012 and 2013 accidents where several people died in an event. Five of the injury deaths are recorded in connection with the terror actions by Statoil's gas plant in the In Amenas in Algeria. Two of the work injury deaths occurred in connection with the fact that a bridge under the mould in Trondheim, Norway collapsed. One of the dead worked at the facility and the other was driving in the car and was crushed under the bridge.

At the same time showing The Authority's investigation of the registered accidents that about 37 per cent are classified as "loss of control of machines and equipment" and that at about half of the accidents are not carried out adequate risk assessment. In addition, the lack of training, incorrect use of machinery and equipment, on your own work, and maintenance work the Central causes of these accidents.

-Here it is a lot to take hold of both the employers and the Government," said Følsvik.

Update: On 28 April campaigners remember injured workers Maan news

PGFTU 28 April in Palestine (Update - pictures from the event here)

Shaher Sae’d - PGFTU General Secretary: The Palestinian Government & the Employers should take their responsibilities to secure the safe working environment.

Palestine General Federation (PGFTU) celebrated the World Day for Safety and Health  on the 28 April in the main headquarter of the PGFTU – Nablus, and launched the first activities of May Day.

This first event was one of the series of the actions which will be organized by the PGFTU to celebrate the Labor Day “the first of May”. World Day for Safety and Health  was regarded as a festival attended by Brother Shaher Sae’d by the General Secretary of the PGFTU , the representative of the Labor Ministry Brother Naser Qatame , Representative of stone & Marble Cutter Federation  Brother Hatem Yamak , the  representative of national powers Brother Naser Abu Jeesh  , Head of the Labor office  in Nablus Sister  Asma’  Hanon , representative of the Palestinian Civil defense Brother Noor Maree’   ,members of national  and executive committee of the PGFTU , heads of national unions and departments and members of administrative committee , male and female activates  as well as families of workers who were killed in their work sites and regarded as martyrs of labor movement .

Sae’d confirmed that this occasion the 28th of April is also a day in which the world's trade union movement holds it’s international Commemoration Day for Dead and injured Workers to honor the memory of victims of occupational accidents and diseases and organize worldwide mobilizations and campaigns on this date.

Sae’d aslo assured that we as unions  must  remember those who die from occupational diseases such as work-related cancers , and he promoted  the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases . He mentioned that this day is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on emerging trends in the field of occupational safety and health and on the magnitude of work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities worldwide.

He gave the attendants  a shameful death toll in workplace fatalities and accidents by declaring  that there is more than 113 million work accidents yearly in different work sites all over the world , 200 . 000 of them caused the death of those workers.

Sa’ed clarified that On the  Palestinian labor market  level in 2013 there was 27 death cases in Palestinian work sites and 28 death cases in the Israeli labor market due to the absence of  occupational health and safety measures , and there is also 5028 work accidents  , as well as  1400 causalities caused permanent or temporary incapables which means the total of 419 cases monthly , 16 accident daily and two accidents every world hour.


Sae’d assured that the PGFTU in this regard is demanding the government and the employers to provide the precautionary and the preventive measures of occupational health and safety for the workers to prevent and minimize the percentage of the accidents in labor market. And he confirmed that  providing these measures will promotes the creation of a global preventative safety and health culture involving all stakeholders, increasing the value of the production and protects the security of the institution.

At the end of his speech Shaher sae’d demanded the PNA to recruit the martyrs  of the labor movement in the records of the Palestinian martyrs.

Brother Naser Qatame The representative of the Labor Ministry confirmed the commitment of the labor ministry of the cooperation with other parties in improving the work environment, empowering the professional and human skills and the qualifications of the work inspectors.

He also appreciated the current cooperation between the tripartite, which is  clear  in the establishment of the of Palestinian national committee for health and safety and the support of the ILO in the frame of strengthen and  reinforce the conditions of decent work in the Palestinian labor market .

The representative of national powers Brother Naser Abu JEESH held the government the responsibilities of protecting the workers, and he highlighted the important role of the PGFTU in securing the safe condition for the workers in their working sites and defending their rights.

The representative of civil defense Brother Noor Ma’ree confirmed the necessity of improving the work and the policies of the civil defense in order to prevent the accidents and the killing of the workers in their work sites as well as raising the awareness of the workers about the importance and the necessity of health and safety measures.

Brother Hatem Yamak the representative of employers called the PGFTU and the labor ministry to Strengthening cooperation to secure a safe environment and protect the workers and the Palestinian manpower.

The secretary of health and safety department in the PGFTU Brother Mustapha Hanane presented a brief report of the PGFTU ‘s vision , achievements and the number  of workers dead, injured or suffering from diseases contracted at their workplaces every day.

At the end of this occasion there was an honoring  Ceremony for the families of  martyrs of the workers who were killed in the workplaces.

 
Finally The celebration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an integral part of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health of the PGFTU .

For more information on this event please contact Qais Arafat

SUNTRACS In Central America, the Union of Construction Workers of Panamá (SUNTRACS) marched nationwide and created a mural commemorating of April 28th. more

SINTRACESANLO / SINTRAFAPESA / FENATIMAP In Peru, the Ceramics Workers Union of San Lorenzo SAC (SINTRACESANLO) and the Union of Workers of the Peruvian Factory Eternit (SINTRAFAPESA) convened to mobilize its members and created commemorative banners in celebration of April 28th.

And in the same country, the National Federation of Workers in the Wood Industry (FENATIMAP) made a commemorative Rally and Pucallpa. more

TCUP (update) On 28 April, groups will commit to fight discrimination against workers with HIV The Philippine Star, April 27, 2014

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is working with Pinoy Plus Association Inc., a group of Filipinos infected with the AIDS virus, to combat discrimination against Filipinos infected with HIV/AIDS. In a statement, the groups called on employers and the government to enforce workplace policies to stop the rejection of HIV positives from employment and promotion and termination from their jobs. more

NUBCW Candle light vigil commemoration at Hanjin site in Subic. Picket outside Qatar Embassy in Manila.

ALU ALU 60th Anniversary celebrations (including   candle light vigil commemoration in collaboration with Pinoy Plus (a group of HIV positive individuals) in Manila.

TUCP Led by the TUCP Women’s Committee, Philippines’ union leaders representing nine national labor federations, 26 enterprise-based unions in special economic zones and in the BPO industry, and workers in the informal economy, gathered to commemorate the 2014 International Workers Memorial Day.

The commemoration culminated with the release of 12 white balloons by the women participants. They had held on to the balloons for the entire ceremony.  The balloons represented the twelve reported deaths due to workplace accidents in the Philippines from January to March 2014.

The TUCP keeps track of workers’ deaths and injuries on the job, and posts these in its website

For more information on TUCP activities for this April 28, please contact secrtucp@tucp.org.ph

UGT-P CDs, seminars and other activities for 28 April

On 28th April, the UGT-P will launch a CD-ROM for union safety representatives. This CD-ROM includes comprehensive and interactive information on Portuguese legislation and practical guidance related to health and safety at work.

Among other initiatives, UGT-P will organize a Seminar in Oporto whose title is “Health and Security in Time of Crisis”. UGT-P, will also participate at the official ceremonies of the National Day for Prevention and Security, in Lisbon and Guimarães.

For more information on UGT-P activities for this 28th April, please contact geral@ugt.pt or catarina.tavares@ugt.pt

CESTRAR For this April 28th, the Rwandan trade union CESTRAR will visit workplaces in the district of Rwamagana and Nyagatare. The president and General secretary of the union will be part of the team. The delegation will evaluate the level of protection of workers and hold discussions with them.

For more information please contact CESTRAR

Pour ce 28 avril, CESTRAR mettra en lumière les defis de la santé au travail. C'est dans ce cadre, qu'une tournée avec les composantes tripartites est organisée dans l'Est du pays dans le district de RWAMAGANA et de NYAGATARE où il sera visité une usine de traitement des déchets métalliques et de fabrication du matériel en Pierre Granite, sous la conduite du Ministre du Travail.
Deux secteurs où la protection des travailleurs est nécessaire et importants, la délégation de la CESTRAR est conduite par le President, le Secretaire général adjoint et le SG du syndicat de la construction et 2eme V Pdt de la CESTRAR.

Au programme, visites des lieux avec évaluation des mesures de protections individuelles et collectives, discussions avec la direction et des représentants des travailleurs, entre autres.

Scottish Hazards Campaign The Edinburgh International Workers' Memorial Day event will take place from 12.30-1.30pm in Princes Street Gardens. There will be music from Protest in Harmony and the gathering will be addressed by two MSPs, Scottish Friends of Bhopal and Edinburgh's Lord Provost. For more information, and for other Scottish events see here - Now updated with pictures (30.4.14)

The true cost of an industrial accident by Stewart Hume, electrician and Unite activist
Scottish trade union safety activist Stewart Hume describes what it was like to lose his father in an industrial "accident", and why it is crucial for everyone to campaign for an end to the killing. more

STUC Issue Safety Warning on International Workers Memorial Day

Speaking ahead of events to mark this year’s International Worker’s Memorial Day the STUC has urged Government action to halt the race to the bottom for workplace health and safety.

Grahame Smith, STUC General Secretary said; “The Coalition Government has spent its first four years attacking worker’s rights but their misplaced enthusiasm to undermine our well health and safety regulation and enforcement is absolutely staggering and, sadly, places many workers at greater risk of workplace injury or ill-health.

“In the name of austerity they have slashed the budget of the Health and Safety Executive by 35%, they have forced the HSE to limit pro-active inspections to high risk business sectors and they clearly want to commercialise our health and safety regulator.

“This Government seems more intent on perpetuating the health and safety myths peddled by certain sections of the media than protecting workers. They are attacking the autonomy of the HSE and have driven through changes in health and safety legislation ignoring the advice of their independent experts and without public consultation.

“The Government deregulation agenda is out of control and they seem to care little that, in their efforts to appease the business lobby, they are placing the health, safety and wellbeing of workers at risks.

“International Worker’s Memorial Day has never been so important and in communities across Scotland trade union members, politicians and bereaved families will come together to “Remember the Dead and Fight for the Living”.

Ends

Contact: Ian Tasker 07974 966227

Full list of International Workers Memorial Day Events can be found here

ISSET For this 28th April, the group bringing together all trade union centers from Senegal (the InterSyndicale Sécurité et Santé au Travail) will be organising a debate on the issue of chemical substances and occupational safety and health.

Unions will be focusing on different aspects of implementation of OHS legislation, as well as on the work needed for securing the ratification of ILO standards (C155, C161, C187, C170)

For more information on this event, please contact Ousmane Diop ousmdiop2004@yahoo.fr

Français: Pour ce 28 avril, l’intersyndicale sécurité et santé au travail, qui regroupe toutes les centrales syndicales du Sénégal, organisera une journée de débat sur la question des substances chimiques et le lien avec la santé au travail.

Les syndicats se concentreront sur différents éléments de l’application de la législation en vigueur, ainsi que sur le travail à développer pour garantir la ratification de certains instruments du BIT, notamment les conventions 155, 161, 187 et 170.

Pour davantage d’information sur cette réunion, veuillez contacter Ousmane Diop ousmdiop2004@yahoo.fr

On 28 April, construction union SGIGM receives a national award for health and safety at the workplace

On the occasion of the International Workers Memorial Day, the Occupational Safety and Health Directorate of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy of the Republic of Serbia awarded the Trade Union of Workers in Construction, Industry of Building Materials of Serbia, SGIGM, for its efforts and dedication in addressing health and safety issues at work place in the construction industry. The event took place in a packed hall of the theatre "Bosko Buha" in Belgrade, with participation of more than 300 guests from all parts of the society. Were present employers, trade unions, politicians, representatives of non-governmental organizations, government and international organizations, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other institutions. more

COSATU/FAWU IWMD is very close to South Africa’s Freedom day of 27 April. Despite this, the South African Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and its affiliate FAWU, which organise farm workers, will commemorate this day by educating farm workers about the health and safety roving safety representative programme that is unfolding in Limpopo, Mpumalanga.

An education pamphlet that will indicate worker’s rights and how they can defend themselves from any hazards in the workplace is being produced, under the banner “Remember the dead and fight for the living”. This work is being done in collaboration with the International Union of Food workers (IUF).

For more information on COSATU/FAWU activities for this 28th April, please contact Jacqueline Mpolokeng-Bodibe  jacqueline@cosatu.org.za

CCOO Trade union CCOO has compiled a detailed, intereactive Google map of 28 April activities: See the map in full here.

CC OO / UGT On 28th April, the Spanish trade unions Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and Union General de Trabajadores (UGT) will mobilise against attempts to weaken workers’ protection, notably cuts in prevention policies.

Both trade union centers will organise hundreds of events, including seminars, rallies, debates, and press conferences across Spain aimed to underline the risks of the current deterioration of working conditions and the reduction of resources allocated to prevention of occupational risks in companies, which lead to a worst health and safety for people, including the risk of losing their lives. More

USO Another ITUC affiliate, USO will organise events under the slogan “Professional diseases: let’s make them visible” and has organized materials and FAQs.

For more information on CCOO and UGT activities for this 28th April, please contact Mr Francisco Javier Torres Fernandez and Emilio Gonzalez Vicente

LO-TCO Schysta arbetsplatser måste vara en självklarhet Det är farligt att arbeta. Liv och död står på spel. Miljontals människor betalar ett oerhört högt pris. ”Hur är detta möjligt 2014?”, frågar Kristina Henschen, chef för LO-TCO Biståndsnämnd, på den internationella arbetsmiljödagen. mer

LO - En enda dags vackra ord måste bli verklighet varje dag

Den 28 april betyder förmodligen inget speciellt för dig. En helt vanlig måndag. Ändå är det en speciell dag – den internationella minnesdag då fackliga organisationer runt om världen minns och hedrar alla de arbetstagare som förlorat livet på eller på grund av arbetet. mer

TUCTA Unions hosted a week-long series of activities on OHS

The Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA) has actively participated in OHS actions in the country in the framework of 28th April. Activities include the distribution of posters and banners and interviews on the media. 

Many activities have been conducted in partnership with the government and employers and dealth with the ILO focus on chemicals. In this regard, a seminar on chemical safety was organised on April 25th and an award will be delivered today to companies complying with safety standards today.

For more information on TUCTA events, please contact Meja Kassim Kapalata

BWICT/TLSC BWICT and TLSC plan to hold a seminar on asbestos in Bangkok to mark International Workers' Memorial Day.

CWU TL OHS awareness for workers (including Asbestos) at Dili and a press conference.

FESYTRAT For this 28th April, the FESYTRAT - Fédération Syndicale des Travailleurs des Transports du Togo – will run a two day workshop aimed at providing participants with the basic knowledge regarding occupational safety and health. Special attention will be given to the role the ILO conventions play in protecting the health and life of workers. They will count with the participation of our sister organisation ITUC Africa, which will be represented by Yahya Msangi, the OHS coordinator of the organisation.

YOL-IS struggles against deregulation methods

BWI received the following message from YOL-IS: ”Workers’ and trade union rights are being exploited all over the world by subcontracting, bogus self-employment, temporary employment agencies and undeclared jobs. more

TUC Focusing minds on the human suffering in Qatar more

UNISON Health and safety is no burden more

BOHS Call for compliance on Workers’ Memorial Day 2014: Work-related cancer can and should be prevented more

IOSH Safety professionals back 28 April call for safe work "The International Network of Safety and Health Professional Organisations (INSHPO) said there could be “no excuses” for work-related deaths in the modern-day workplace." more

Speaking out and keeping quiet Mark Martin, regional organiser with the UK construction union UCATT, spoke at a Workers' Memorial Day event in Bradford, England. A minute's silence at 12 noon was just that, despite three large construction sites flanking the commemoration. The union members on all three sites stopped work for five minutes to mark the event. Speakers included Rory O'Neill, one of the ITUC/Hazards coordinators of the global event. Image

Families Against Corporate Killers Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) Statement on International Workers' Memorial Day 28 April 2014 more

Trade Union Congress On 28th April, the British Trades Union Congress will use the day to highlight the need for strong regulation at national, European and global level.

They will emphasise the need to stop companies in the UK from benefitting from the lack of health and safety standards that lead to disasters such as the Bangladesh factory collapse that killed over 1,100 workers.

Ceremonies, seminars, demos and rallies will be organised all over the UK, with union activists’ reflecting on the dual purpose of the 28th April: Remember the dead, and fight for the living.

With the events taking place shortly before the European elections, the TUC will also be calling for a strong strategy on health and safety from the European Commission which will raise standards throughout Europe.

For more information on TUC activities for this 28th April, please contact Hugh Robertson or visit the dedicated TUC website

'Toxic, corrosive and hazardous - the government's record on health and safety - a new report for 28 April from the national union federation TUC

UPDATE TUC 28 April News release Government cuts in vital health and safety ‘red tape’ threaten lives at work more

USDAW The shopworkers' union has produced resources for 28 April. More

PIT-CNT/SUNCA Unions win the approval of the new "Law of Corporate Criminal Liability". Update from BWI. ‪#‎iwmd14‬

On March 18th, 2014, after a long negotiation process between InterUnion Workers and Workers' National Convention (PIT-CNT), the Sole Union of Construction and Allied Workers (SUNCA) and the Senate of the Republic of Uruguay, the labor construction movement finally conquered the new "Law of Corporate Criminal Liability" in this country.

In order to pressure, PIT-CNT convened a concentration around the Parliament, while the SUNCA conducted a national strike and a national caravan to surround the same point. In total, more than fifteen thousand workers showed up throughout the day around Parliament.

With this victory, Uruguay now has a law condemning Crime Hazard: When an employer or person in charge of the corporation does not take specific preventive measures contained in the same law, violate the Security and Hygiene Regulations, or cause a serious health risk, physical and / or life of the worker.

For the next April 28th, International Day for Safety and Health at Work, the BWI does recognize the work of our fraternal union, SUNCA from Uruguay, as well as its central PIT-CNT, and calls to continue struggle for workers in our sector.

AFL-CIO 150 US workers die every day more

MassCOSH A 4 minute video of 28 April activites in Boston

National COSH 2014 Worker Memorial Week activities have attained historic proportions. View a sample of recent postings of media coverage from areas around the country here

On 28 April, San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 address the occupational cancer epidemic more

CDC Official occupational health research agency supports International Workers' Memorial Day more

AFL-CIO For this 28th April, the AFL-CIO and its members will mobilise throughout the country along with workers, community members, faith leaders, local officials and relatives of victims of workplace-related deaths and injuries, sharing stories of injured workers and relatives of workers who have lost their lives on the job and renewing the fight for stronger regulations and protections for all working people.

US organisations are invited to post details about their events here • A Google Map of those events is available • contact Peg Seminario for further information

USMWF The United Support Memorial for workplace fatalities (USMWF) is also going to be running dozens of ceremonies around the country • contact Tammy Miser for further information

COSH Network : the US National COSH [Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health] has posted a list of more than 50 events in 25 states. here

28 April update

CTV Unions will focus on workers’ access to health in Venezuela.

Today, the Venezuelian Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (CTV) along with its health federation will organise a working meeting along with a press conference to call for media attention to occupational health and safety as well as to workers’ right to health and prevention policies. 

The union will also circulate awareness materials to their affiliates and a call to the Government agency dealing with the issue. 

Unions will also be inquire on the status of the procedure dealing with the deadly accident occurred in the Amuay refinery.

For more information, please contact Alejandro Sanchez

Wales TUC To mark Workers’ Memorial Day the Wales TUC has organised a reception in remembrance of those who have lost their lives at work.

The reception will take place in the foyer of the Unite Building at 11:15am on Monday 28th April 2014 and finish no later than 12.30pm.

The event will include a keynote speech by the Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of Wales and speakers from the Wales TUC. A wreath laying ceremony will also take place at the permanent Workers Memorial outside the building.

Further information from Gavin Pearce

ZCTU The Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions will, together with other social partners commemorate workers on a high level event. The meeting will take place on the 29th of April,2014. The commemorations will be country-wide with the trade union leadership invited to make some statements on the importance of OHS.

For more information on ZCTU events, please contact Nathan Banda

EFBWW 28 April statement from the European construction unions' federation EFBWW more

EUROPE/ETUI Union researchers make clear link between economic model and poor OHS

The European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) will be marking the 28 April celebrations by stressing that these commemorations must not become an opportunity for national and European authorities to salve their consciences on the cheap. "Let us not be taken in by the false sentiment on 28 April, but demand a clear and detailed accounting”, Laurent Vogel editorialized in HesaMag magazine, just out. “Death by work is an ongoing reality determined by the pursuit of profit, flexibility, a lack of democracy in the workplace", said the ETUI researcher. See full release and link to HESA Mag here

For more information on ETUI activities for this April 28, please contact D Gregoire

April 28th: Unions make work safer: A Death, A Stoppage! Continuing the celebration of April 28th, the date intended to remember and pay tribute to workers who have been victims of occupational accidents, occupational diseases, disability and death because of their work activities, this year 2014, affiliated unions of the Building and Wood Worker´s Internacional (BWI) raised their voices to perform specific actions together with its affiliates. more

BWI Unions reclaim their rights on site in the building and construction sector

For this 28th April, the Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI) is mobilising globally to ensure the health and safety of workers in its sectors is respected. A brochure has been developed and is available online.

A compilation of BWI affiliates for 28th April is being prepared. BWI reports already activities in at least seven Asia-Pacific countries, including candle lighting, press conferences, public meetings, seminars and rallies. Many of them will highlight the particularly terrible conditions of migrant workers in countries like Qatar.

For more information on BWI activities for this April 28, please contact Fiona Murie

ITF Transport workers worldwide back the campaign

Paddy Crumlin, president of the global transport unions' federation ITF, said: “Far too many workers are still dying in preventable accidents. On workers’ memorial day we come together not just to remember the dead, but to fight for the living – and ITF workers around the world are always ready to stand alongside other workers in danger.” more

PSI Public service unions will emphasise the right to OHS For this 28th April, the Public Service International (PSI) will stress the unrelieved urgency of OHS for workers, and the persistent failures of governments and employers to advance OHS, using the demands of globalization and the fallout of the financial and real economy crises as pretexts to continue denying workers’ rights. A reminder that OHS is a right in the ICESCR and its violation is immoral. A poster has been produced by PSI: For more information on PSI activities for this April 28 contact PSI

PSI Déclaration de la PSI à l'occasion de la Journée internationale commémorative des travailleurs/euses, le 28 avril 2014 Honorer les travailleurs/euses de première ligne qui ont perdu la vie pour sauver celle des autres Le 28 avril, à l'occasion de la Journée internationale commémorative des travailleurs/euses, l'Internationale des Services Publics (PSI) et ses affiliés présents tant sur nos lieux de travail qu’ au sein de nos communautés rendons honneur à nos collègues blessés ou tués dans l’exécution de leurs fonctions au service du public. plus

PSI Día Mundial de la Salud y Seguridad en el Trabajo El 28 de abril, Día Mundial de la Salud y la Seguridad en el Trabajo, la Internacional de Servicios Públicos y sus miembros afiliados se unen en nuestros lugares de trabajo y comunidades para rendir homenaje a los compañeros y compañeras que se han lesionado o han perdido sus vidas mientras prestaban servicios públicos. más

ILO Working conditions in Europe and globally Remarks by Sandra Polaski, ILO Deputy Director-General, to the European Commission conference on 'Working Conditions' ILO 28 April statement

ILO ACTRAV For this 28th April, the ILO Bureau of Workers activities (ACTRAV) will pay tribute to the memory of the Rana Plaza victims and to reflect on the roots and aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collapse. The role of the ILO and standards in preventing this kind of tragedies to happen again will be discussed.

ACTRAV article on Rana plazaand 28 April events webpage