Remember the Dead – Fight for the Living
Business Development Director Denise Kitchener reflects on a 2013 remembrance of Workers’ Memorial Day… and its powerful call to action.
‘Remember the dead – fight for the living’ was the message earlier today at a Workers’ Memorial Day service arranged by the Nottinghamshire branch of Unison.
It was an important hour, in the middle of the day, to be able to think of the 50,000 workers estimated to die through work-related illness or accidents each year.
Boots of varying sizes were brought along by union members to signify the empty boots left behind by workers killed through no fault of their own. This proved a real and poignant reminder of the families who continue to lose loved ones due to the ongoing negligence of employers throughout our country.
The Reverend Rachel Shock, Nottingham Workplace Chaplain at St Peter’s church, Nottingham, asked those present to fill the empty boots and continue with the fight for proper health and safety and justice for all workers. Everyone, she said, should be able to go to work in the morning and return home safely at the end of each working day.
Each year we commemorate this important day and each year I read complaints and rants about ‘elf and safety’. Yes, there has to be a balance, but negligence in the workplace cannot be tolerated.
Rules and regulations do save lives, along with our duty of care to each other. Let’s keep working to maintain the right balance.