Issue date
Safe work is a right, not a privilege. Each year on 28 April trade unionists mark Workers Memorial Day.

It is alarming to note that every year worldwide, more people are killed at work than in wars. Each year, 28 April is designated as Workers' Memorial Day, providing the opportunity to reflect on the many people who are killed, seriously injured or made ill while doing their jobs.

Wales TUC  President Shavanah Taj honours those who have suffered by calling on people to join a union to fight for a stronger voice at work and improve workplace health and safety.

Most workers don't die of mystery ailments, or in tragic accidents. They die because an employer decided their safety wasn't that important. Workers' Memorial Day commemorates those workers and so if you're not in a union, join a union. If you're a member of a union, become active and become a union heath and safety rep. Unionised workplaces are safer workplaces and today on International Workers' Memorial Day we remember the dead and fight for the living.

Shavanah Taj, Wales TUC  President

Join a union today

Watch Shavanah's full message for Workers' Memorial Day 2019: 

Take part in Workers' Memorial Day 2019

This year Workers' Memorial Day falls on a Sunday so you may like to organise an event in your workplace on the following Monday, 29 April. Your event could be a minute's silence, a commemorative rally, a workplace meeting or just a small get-together. You could also arrange a larger commemorative 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 the workplace or in the community. 

Tell us how you're marking Workers' Memorial Day on Twitter (using #IWMD19) or Facebook

Dangerous substances

The theme for Workers' Memorial Day 2019 is: “dangerous substances – get them out of the workplace”.

Take a look at the TUC's guides on AsbestosDiesel exhaust and Occupational cancer