LTB 180/18 Workers Memorial Day – 28th April 2018
No. 180/2018
28 March 2018
Our Ref: N4/18
Workers Memorial Day – 28th April 2018
To: All Branches
Dear Colleagues,
The purpose behind Workers’ Memorial Day has always been to “remember the dead: fight for the living” and unions are asked to focus on both areas, by considering events or memorials to remember all those killed and injured through work but at the same time ensuring that such tragedies are not repeated.
That can best be done by building trade union organisations, and campaigning for stricter enforcement with higher penalties for breaches of health & safety laws.
Workers Memorial Day is commemorated throughout the world and is officially recognised by the UK Government.
In 2018 the theme for the day is “Unionised workplaces are safer workplaces” and will focus the huge difference that unions make in preventing deaths in the workplace. We will also be celebrating 40 years of union health and safety representatives.
The CWU Health Safety & Environment Department has promoted Workers Memorial Day amongst Branches and Regional Health and Safety Forums via regular reports and LTBs. A CWU Workers Memorial Day poster has been produced and will be distributed to Branches to promote the day, and put up in workplaces. Attached to this LTB is a pdf of the poster.
What you can do:
- Find out what is happening in your area on 28 April. The website below will list all the local activities we know about, but you can also ask your union branch or trades council and other union contacts;
- If nothing is happening locally then get together with some of your workmates or others in the area where you work and organise something. It can be a commemorative rally, a workplace meeting or just a small get-together;
- Organise a minute’s silence in your workplace on the day (because the 28th April is a Saturday, if your workplace is closed that day you may want to hold it on the Friday);
- Ask your local council, or any other public body, to fly official flags at half-mast on the day. Remember that the day is officially recognised by the government;
- Arrange an event such as planting a memorial tree in a public place, putting up a plaque, dedicating a sculpture, a piece of art, or a bench, to remember workers who have been killed at their workplace or in the community;
- If you are planning any events for the day, or you want to raise awareness about Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April, then it is important you consider how you can best use local media both before and on the Day.
- Ask local religious centres to include Workers’ Memorial Day in their worship on the day;
- Distribute purple ‘forget-me-not’ ribbons, the symbol of Workers Memorial Day;
- Let people know about anything that happened in your area on the day. Use hashtag #IWMD18
For resources on Workers Memorial Day including ribbons and car stickers please contact the Greater Manchester Hazards centre at: mail@gmhazards.org.uk.
More details are at: https://www.tuc.org.uk/events/national/workers-memorial-day
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer