‘Remember the Dead: Fight for the Living’
“We Love Red Tape – it’s better than bloody bandages”
Rally: Albert Square 11.30 am
Meeting & Exhibition: People’s History Museum 12.45/1 pm
North West Trade Unions, Families Against Corporate Killers and Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group co-ordinated by Greater Manchester Hazards Centre will hold a Rally in Albert Square, and a meeting at the Peoples’ History Museum, Manchester on 28 April. Everyone is welcome especially those who have lost a family member due to work incident or illness.
No-one should die simply for going to work by 140 people are killed by work every day in Great Britain, or 6 an hour - more than by war or murder! (1)
We will remember everyone killed at by work in the North West which is over 5,000 a year in agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, services and construction, and the many thousands more made ill and injured, as we lay wreaths and stand silent for one minute.
Lynn Collins Secretary of the North West TUC will lead the speakers on the need for good regulation and strong trade union organisation to make sure workers come home alive each day, and call for an end to deadly deregulation (2)
Gary Keary of the FBU will make a tribute to Stephen Hunt, a firefighter killed in the line of duty on 13th July last year, and a fire engine from Philips Park Station will stand by.
Families Against Corporate Killers will remember young workers in the words of friends of Cameron Minshull, only 16 when he was killed while on an apprenticeship in Bury in January 2013.
A member of the G.M/cr Asbestos Victims Support Group will speak on the lack of justice for sufferers.
Other speakers will highlight damages from the cuts in HSE budget and activity and the removal of civil liability.
A short play: ‘The Demented Deregulation Daleks are defeated by collective action’ will lead to a shout out for safety.
Demented business Daleks say: ‘Deregulate, Deregulate, Deregulate’ and the Government obeys.
One year after 1,200 garment workers were killed in the collapse of Rana Plaza, we will also remember those killed in other countries due to lack of regulation and free trade union, including the 1,200 migrant workers killed in Qatar building world cup facilities and 25,000 killed by Bhopal over nearly 30 years.
But workers and families of people killed by work say: “We Love Red Tape because it’s better than bloody bandages!”
We will then walk to the People’s History Museum where there is an exhibition showing why red tape is better than bloody bandages and featuring the 2young2die@work. Theresa Griffin MEP candidate will speak at a short meeting ‘Standing up for Health and Safety in the UK and in Europe’
We want to encourage people who care about their lives and health at work to get involved too by taking a Health and Selfie! Get creative take a photo of yourself with a message for employers and government cares about their health and lives at work post on Facebook ‘Workers Memorial Day 2014 in Manchester’ and on Twitter.
For example: Ivan Timson from the Trade Union Unite has posted his pic on Twitter:
#HealthandSelfie “We Love Red Tape because it’s better than bloody bandages! Stop deregulating it’s killing us” #IWMD14
(1) Statistics:
Globally every year more people are killed at work than in wars – a minimum of 2.3 million worldwide the International Labour Organisation estimates. In the UK the Hazards Campaign estimates that in 2012/13 over 1,400 are killed in work-related incidents and up to 50,000 died from work-related diseases (cancers 18,000 [12% of total], heart disease 20,000 [20% of total], lung and other diseases 12.000 [15-20% of total] ).
Hazards Estimates: 140 people a day or 6 per hour are killed by work in Great Britain per year compare this with:
532 murders last year and
620 British soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan over 11 years.
Find Hazards Campaign and HSE Great Britain and North West Statistics for 2012/13: here
Source: Greater Manchester Hazards
