Thursday 28th April marks International Workers’ Memorial Day when we remember those who have been killed or seriously injured/made ill in work-related incidents.
In Ireland, official figures tell us that 481 people were killed in work-related incidents over a ten-year period from 2012-2021. So far this year, 7 people have been killed in work-related incidents. But these recorded deaths are what we usually refer to as “work accidents”. There are many more who have died from illnesses acquired at work which often have a long latency period (diseases like asbestosis are probably the best-known examples) while our recent experience with Covid-19 demonstrates the devastating impact of unexpected pandemics in some sectors, notably healthcare and meat processing. Apart from fatalities, thousands more workers have been left with life-changing injuries.
Congress, in cooperation with the Health and Safety Authority, and with support from Ibec and the Construction Industry Federation, will jointly mark Workers’ Memorial Day with a national commemorative event in Dublin. The commemorative event featured a ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance on Thursday morning. Those in attendance will include Kevin Callinan, President of Congress, Damien English TD, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Sharon McGuinness, CEO of the HSA, and senior figures from Ibec, the Construction Industry Federation, and affiliated trade unions.
The service will also be attended by the family of Lorcan Deasy, who lost his life in a construction incident in Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo in 2018. As part of the service, the family will join the minister in laying a wreath in honour of Lorcan and all other workers killed while doing their job.
Please use the hashtag #WorkersMemorialDay and #IWMD22
Check the Congress information page at https://www.ictu.ie/workers-memorial-day
Please apply overlays/twibbon to your Twitter and Facebook accounts by joining the campaign page at https://twibbon.com/Support/workers-memorial-day-11
