TODAY is International Workers’ Memorial Day, when Public Services International (PSI) members, their families and communities are joining together to remember and mourn sisters and brothers who have been killed or injured at work.
‘We pledge to continue our fight for the rights of the living.
‘International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) is intended to remember all those killed at or by work, and to strengthen our resolve to reduce risks and protect people from injury in the workplace,’ declares the international union.
International Workers’ Memorial Day originated in Canada.
April 28 was chosen as it is the anniversary of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in the USA and also commemorates the day that 28 people were killed in a construction incident in Connecticut.
Since 1989 trade unions in the USA, UK, Asia, Europe and Africa have organised events on and around April 28. IWMD was adopted by the Scottish TUC in 1993, followed by the TUC in 1999.
Events are held today to commemorate those who have died whilst at work and the intention is to focus and reflect on workplace illness, injury and death and their causes.
‘Take a moment to think about those who have lost their lives through their work and think about what you can do to protect yourself, your workers and your colleagues,’ urges the PSI.
In a statement issued to mark IWMD, Public Services International, the global union federation that represents 20 million members, insisted that public service workers must be consulted and involved in planning, decision-making and delivery at all levels of disaster scenarios.
It declared that the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction has been in place since 2000 and encourages establishment of regional and national platforms for disaster risk reduction, comprising multi-stakeholder mechanisms.
Less certain is the ability of nations and communities to plan for, prevent or lessen the damage from such events.
Public service workers are the skilled first responders in times of crisis.
Emergency services, healthcare, water and energy workers risk their health and lives on the frontlines in the service of their communities.
Investment in strong public safety regulations, well-trained and properly equipped public service workers and quality public services are key to effective disaster readiness, risk reduction, response and recovery.
When proper building standards are enforced, needless injuries and deaths are avoided in times of disaster.
Well-informed urban planning can reduce risks from climate crises.
And a well-trained public workforce and strong emergency and health services can quickly and effectively help people during and after a crisis, stated PSI.
Its comparison of the impact of the 2009 earthquakes in Haiti and in Chile, two developing countries in the Inter-Americas region, is instructive.
In Chile, thanks in large part to public policy, strong construction regulations and public infrastructure and emergency response investments – loss of life and building damage were remarkably less than occurred in Haiti.
In Haiti, where building codes and emergency services were poor – 320,000 people lost their lives and the country’s infrastructure was destroyed, even though the quake in Chile was far stronger than in Haiti.
Most recently, the 2011 earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan (and the subsequent tsunami in Japan) demonstrated that even high resource countries that are well prepared suffer damage and rely heavily on the quality of their public service infrastructure to limit the multiple harms that disasters entail.
Public Services International urges the United Nations, relevant UN entities, governments and non-governmental organisations to consult and work with trade unions globally to strengthen emergency prevention and response infrastructures at regional and national levels, and to ensure that emergency workers are well-trained and well-equipped to meet any challenge.
This call is in keeping with the World Health Organisation’s January 2011 resolution on Strengthening national health emergency and disaster management capacities and resilience of health systems that urges member states to ‘strengthen the role of the local health workforce in the health emergency management system to provide local leadership and health services, through enhanced planning, training and access to other resources.’
These actions require committed investment in quality public services. Investments in public services save lives.
They are investments in jobs that build economies, and investments in services that ensure sustainable communities.
Of added concern is the trend to privatise public services in the wake of major disasters. Disasters should not be viewed as opportunities to profit at the expense of vulnerable populations!
In the aftermath of environmental disasters – such as in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and in New Orleans, USA after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – governments and financial institutions have exploited the vulnerability of local populations to privatise public services as part of ‘reconstruction’.
Privatisation can be swiftly imposed in public water, energy, health, education, construction and government administration sectors.
Shamefully, such market opportunism has been applied even where voters had previously rejected privatisation, concluded PSI.
• At 12 midday today, Unison members across the North West, plus many others across the UK, will take part in a minutes’ silence to mark International Workers Memorial Day.
It is estimated that UK work incidents cause up to 1,600 deaths each year; including deaths to members of the public, work-related suicide, and road traffic accidents whilst driving for work.
On top of this, it is estimated that there are up to 50,000 deaths from work-related illnesses; including cancers, respiratory illnesses, and heart disease.
International Workers Memorial Day is a time to remember those killed, made ill, or injured by their own, or someone else’s work.
Nick Green, Chair of Unison North West regional Health and Safety Committee said: ‘It’s more important than ever to highlight the sacrifices made by workers, particularly as we are aware of the ConDem government’s plans to water down existing Health and Safety regulations.
‘This will have the inevitable consequence of increasing incidence of injuries and deaths from work activities.
‘This year we must fight even harder as the protection of workers is under attack as never before, and tell the government that: We didn’t vote to die at work.’
