LABOUR chiefs have encouraged Evesham residents to mark this year’s International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) on Wednesday (April 28).
The day is an annual event to remember those killed at work and to highlight the importance of health and safety for workers.
This year the focus is on remembering those that have died of Covid-19 contracted whilst working. The day will also be used to call for an improvement to health and safety in workplaces, especially around protecting workers from Covid-19. Recent TUC research shows care staff, nurses and delivery drivers at increased risk of death, with those on zero-hours or insecure contracts twice as likely as those in more secure jobs to die from the virus.
Residents are being asked to join people around the world in placing a candle in their window on Wednesday evening to act as a memorial to those who have lost their lives in the current emergency. The day will also be marked on social media and people are being asked to follow and promote the event using the hashtag #IWMD21.
Labour”s Helen Russell said: “The pandemic demonstrates why health and safety must be a right for everyone who works. Illness anywhere threatens illness everywhere. The pandemic has exposed an occupational health crisis in many workplaces, which puts workers at risk of illness or injury.”
Shelly Asquith, TUC Health and Safety Officer said: “On IWMD people can send a message that health and safety protection at work must be recognised as a right for all.
“Whether it is Covid-19, occupational cancers, or workplace injuries and industrial diseases, every worker should have a right to a voice and a right to protection. No-one should have to die to make a living.”
