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Remembering those killed at work

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Remembering those killed at work

Unions and campaigners have marked Workers' Memorial Day this year in record numbers in over 70 countries worldwide. The TUC said the annual 28 April international event is a reminder that around the world more people are killed at work than in wars and conflict. The union body said the annual reminder is necessary as most of the workers killed in the UK die because employers have not made safety and well-being at work enough of a priority. The day was marked by services, rallies and wreath-laying in most major towns and cities up and down the country, with TUC saying the most common activity was the holding of a simple minute's silence in the workplace. TUC general secretary Brendan Barbersaid: 'Workers' Memorial Day, when we commemorate the dead and focus on protecting the living, has become a major day in the calendar of many workplaces.' He added: 'This year the TUC is aware of more events than ever before, due partly to increasing awareness of the day - which was officially recognised by the government for the first time last year - but also due to growing concern of the impact that cuts in inspection and enforcement activity will have on the number of deaths caused through work.' It was a sentiment echoed by Hilda Palmer of the grassroots Hazards Campaign. She said the government's 'absolute failure to take into account the burden on the families and friends as well as the state, who pick up the bill of billions when workers are killed or injured... exposes their lack of concern for workers' health.' The TUC encouraged unions to use 28 April to campaign against the cuts in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authority funding and enforcement activity.

TUC news release and UK events listing. Hazards Campaign news release.

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