Unlike those dying in war or major incidents, they are not publicly remembered; yet over 2.3 million people are killed by work worldwide each year - more than by war or AIDS. International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) remembers them all and is part of the worldwide campaign to make all workplaces safer.

Unlike those dying in war or major incidents, they are not publicly remembered; yet over 2.3 million people are killed by work worldwide each year - more than by war or AIDS.  International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) remembers them all and is part of the worldwide campaign to make all workplaces safer.  

International Recognition

Started by Canadian Public Service Union (CUPE) , the Canadian Labour Congress declared an annual day of remembrance in 1985 on 28 April which is the anniversary of a comprehensive Workers Compensation Act, passed in 1914. In 1991, the Canadian parliament made 28 April an official Workers’ Mourning Day. For years WMD events have been organised in Canada and the USA where it is the anniversary of the OSHA Act, and then worldwide. Hazards Campaigner Tommy Harte, brought WMD to the UK in 1992 as a day to ‘Remember the Dead: Fight for the Living’. WMD is recognised as a national day in over 20 countries now as the UK made it official in 2010! Argentina, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Luxembourg, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Spain,Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA, Ukraine & Venezuela. In 2001 the ILO, declared 28 April ‘Global Health and Safety Day’.  

Across the world there are tens of thousands of events on 28th April when millions participate in solidarity, standing up for workers’ health and safety, demanding that employers and governments stop the death toll caused by work.