This year’s Workers’ Memorial Day took place on Tuesday 28th April. The day is an internationally recognised event that gives people across the world the chance to remember those who were killed or seriously injured while doing their job, or who suffer from work-related ill health, such as asbestos-related conditions.
This year, the theme was “removing exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace”, and dozens of events took place in the UK in honour of those who have suffered. The events also provided an opportunity to reflect on the reasons why these injuries occured, and what can be done differently going forward.
“Some of the memorials commemorate high-profile disasters that claimed the lives of many workers while others remember lesser-known accidents,” explained Karen McDonnell, RoSPA’s occupational safety and health policy adviser. “In each case, there are lessons to be learned about how to prevent these happening again. We need to stop “new” people having “old” accidents by continuing to campaign for improvements in health and safety standards in businesses across the UK, and spread the good practice we have developed in the UK across the wider world.”
