International Worker's Memorial Day 2023 Event In Liverpool Highlights Work-Related Suicide

CWU Greater Merseyside Health & Safety Coordinator, and Nw BT Unions Health & Safety Co-ord member, Derek Maylor reports on this annual event which takes place in Liverpool on 28th April:

Trade unions and charitable organisations came together at the Pier Head in Liverpool to mark International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) on 28th April 2023. There are similar events commemorated across the world in many countries and IWMD recognised by the UK government as the official day of remembrance for those killed at work or deaths related to work. Every year more people are killed at work than in wars. Most don't die of mystery ailments, or in tragic "accidents".

They die because an employer decided their safety just wasn't that important a priority.

Those gathered observed one minutes silence which was ended by piper Ken Beamer with a piped lament then Roger Phillips explained why this day is so important and why ‘safe work’ is right and not a privilege.

Jamie McGovern of the CWU talked about this year’s theme of organising for health and safety then Roger invited Audrey White, Secretary of the Merseyside Pensioners Association, to address the gathering. Following the short speeches those with wreaths were invited to step forward and lay them underneath the IWMD plaque.

You can watch the video of the ceremony by clicking on the link to this news item: IWMD2023 Liverpool's Memorial Ceremony At Georges Dock Building which can be found at the bottom of this page.

Attendees then relocated to the Racquet Club Hotel for refreshments and a meeting chaired by Jamie who invited Emma Whitby from Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) to speak about the event that led to the loss of John, a wagon driver, her husband and a father to five children.

The story unfurled of a tragic loss to the family moved many of the delegates, Emma shared the feeling of frustration and lack of support from those in authority who should have done better and compared that with the opposite of friends and neighbours who gathered to help the family even with the lockdown constraints. Emma noted the value of a trade union, nothing has ever been given by the establishment to the working classes, everything we have gained has been fought for.

Deryn Hanmer and Jodie Clamp from The Martin Gallier Project spoke about their personal family loss which led to their passionate work for the Project. Deryn lost her brother Daniel, cousin to Jodie, during lockdown which exacerbated the difficult time for the family.

They now use the lessons learnt to help and support others in difficulty and they can prevent people taking their own life, supporting those who have tried to do so, or sadly, support families when someone has done so. They offer prevention by giving people skills to support and remove the stigma of people admitting they need help, normalising genuine caring conversations as a matter of course. If suicides can be prevented, and they clearly can, it is everybody’s responsibility. This conversation can frequently start in the workplace, the more often that people talk about the subject it gets ever easier to talk about it.

At the conclusion of the meeting all the floral tributes and wreaths were taken and laid at the grave of Robert Noonan who was best known by his pen name Robert Tressell the writer of the famous, and often life changing, book “The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists”.

Video and reports of each speaker can be found on the relevant news pages, the links of which appear on the bottom of this page.

Source: Derek Maylor / Chris Ingram (photos, video)