Workers’ Memorial Day for Ireland to take place on Friday 28th April 2017
Congress, Ibec, Construction Industry Federation and Health and Safety Authority promote national day of remembrance for workers killed or injured
Businesses, organisations and workers everywhere invited to mark Workers’ Memorial Day Ireland on 28th April 2017 (#IWMD17)
Tuesday 11th April 2017 - Workers’ Memorial Day will be formally observed in Ireland on Friday 28th April 2017 at a special ceremony involving the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Congress), Ibec, the Construction Industry Federation and the Health and Safety Authority. Workers, businesses, organisations and communities everywhere nationwide are invited to mark Workers’ Memorial Day Ireland with a minute’s silence on that date.
April 28th is the date every year when trade union and employer groups worldwide, as well as individual organisations, remember people killed or injured in work-related accidents. Workers’ Memorial Day Ireland remembers workers lost and injured and highlights the importance of safety, health and welfare at work. The theme of the commemorative event is: Remembering the past for a safe and healthy future.
This year’s event will take place at the Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 at 9.00 am on Friday 28th April. Congress will be represented by General Secretary Patricia King; the CIF by Director General Tom Parlon; Ibec by Director of Employer Relations Maeve McElwee and the HSA by Chief Executive Martin O’Halloran. The four organisations have sent a jointly signed letter to their members and contacts nationwide encouraging participation and support.
Martin O’Halloran, CEO, the Health and Safety Authority said, “This will be the third Workers’ Memorial Day marked nationally in Ireland. It provides an important opportunity to remember and to consolidate everyone’s focus around a single day. One work-related death or accident is one too many.”
“Working with Congress, the CIF and Ibec, this year’s event on Friday 28th April will involve more workplaces, employers and workers. It is only by working together for this common good that we’ll see a significant drop in accidents.”
“In setting this agenda, we remember workers lost or injured and people who have been bereaved. Everyone is entitled to a safe working environment and to return home unharmed each day. We must all remember that and renew our commitment to safety and wellbeing throughout our working lives.”
In Ireland in the ten year period between 2007 and 2016, 520 people were killed in work-related accidents and many thousands more severely injured. Last year alone, 45 people were killed. These are unacceptable loses of life which can be prevented through a combined and intensified effort by everyone in workplaces everywhere.
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