|
World’s workplace fatalities remembered
 |
| Pictured here with Dublin MEP Emer Costello at the Workers’ Memorial Day 2014 ceremony in Dublin are (left to right) Tom Browne of the IMPACT local government and local services division, IMPACT president Kevin O’Malley, Finbarr Maguire of the local authority craft unions’ group, and IMPACT vice president Margaret Coughlan Photo by Conor Healy. |
|
Members of IMPACT’s central executive joined representatives from across the trade union movement to remember workers killed in workplace accidents on 28th April, which was international ‘workers memorial day’. It’s estimated that, worldwide, one worker dies every 15 seconds from a workplace accident or work-related illness. Irish trade unionists met in Dublin to mark the event, which is recognised by unions across the globe and by the tripartite UN International Labour Organisation (ILO). The memorial took place a few days after the first anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed over 1,100 people and injured over 2,500. The Clean Clothes Campaign Ireland is working with others to win fair compensation for the workers and families concerned. The ILO estimates that two million workers die in work-related incidents each year and that there are some 270 million workplace accidents a year. Here in Ireland, 46 people died in work-related accidents last year, including four children killed on farms. IMPACT, which represents staff in the Health and Safety Authority, has criticised staffing shortages that have led to a reduction in the numbers of workplace safety inspections.
 |
|
