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International Worker’s Memorial Day 2009 |
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Tuesday the 28th April 2009 is recognised as International Worker’s Memorial Day.
IDSA, in conjunction with the Victorian Trades Hall Council invite you to share some time with them as they remember those who have died at their workplace.
This annual remembrance will be held at Argyle Square, Lygon Street, Carlton at 10.30am.
An address by prominent speakers will be followed by one minutes silence at 11.00am.
After the service you are invited to lay flowers at the memorial rock & join us for light refreshments at the V.T.H.C. building, cnr Lygon Street & Victoria Street Carlton.
We look forward to sharing this occasion with you
Argyle Square is located on Lygon Street, Carlton,
2 blocks north of the Trades Hall building.
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International Worker’s Memorial Day 2009
Workers Memorial A memorial service is held each year at the Workers
Memorial rock (pictured).
The memorial rock was unveiled in 2000 to commemorate workers who have lost their
lives as a result of their work. Each year on (or near) the 28th of April,
people gather together to remember their loved ones who were killed at work.
The inscription on the rock reads:
The memorial rock has enormous significance for so many of
us. It came from a site where a worker died. The 'symbolic' cross
was carved by a worker who lost his mate on the job, and it was erected after
hours by two groups of workers, each having lost someone dear to them due to a
workplace death. The memorial rock honours all victims of work-related
deaths and is a constant reminder of the number of people who lose their lives
each year in Australia as a result of their work.
The erection of the Memorial was a collaborative effort
between IDSA and the Trades Hall Literary Institute, VTHC and affiliated unions.
It is located on the lawns outside the Victorian Trades Hall Council building,
corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Street, Carlton South, Victoria, Australia.
Photos of the 2006
Workers Memorial
History of the International Day of Mourning
In 1984, the OH&S committee of a Canadian union
organisation* recommended the creation of a remembrance day for workers killed
or injured on the job. By 1991 the Canadian government passed legislation
declaring each April 28 "a day of remembrance for workers killed or injured at
work." Recognition of this "Workers Memorial Day" spread, and it was
adopted internationally in 1996. Now the day is marked in countries
all around the world.
Since 1997, the Australian union movement has observed the
day with commemorative events organised by the state and territory trades and
labour councils. The day highlights the preventable nature of the majority
of workplace accidents and ill health and promotes campaigns and union
organisation in the fight for improvements in workplace safety. The slogan
for the day is Mourn the dead, fight for the living.
* The Canadian Union of Public Employees - CUPE
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