Unions and families gathered at Trades Hall today to commemorate fallen workers on International Workers Memorial Day.
Trade union leaders and representatives of families honoured the memory of workers who’ve died at work and promised to fight to protect the living.
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Victorian Trades Hall Secretary, Brian Boyd, told the gathering that unions needed to stand up for health and safety in workplaces.
'We know the federal government’s agenda to get rid of unions from Australian workplaces will weaken safeguards for workers and increase the likelihood of workplace injury and death.'
Official government figures show that 2,200 Australians die from workplace diseases or injuries each year and receive workers' compensation. But official statistics tell only a very small part of the story. In fact, Australia has a poor record in OHS: research by Access Economics (a very conservative organisation) suggests that between 4,900 and 8,200 Australians die each year of work-related causes. The United Nations (ILO) puts their estimate at about 6,700 Australian deaths through workplace accidents or through work-related disease each year.
Sharan Burrow, ACTU President, told the gathering 'The ACTU calls on the Federal Government to implement the highest possible occupational health and safety standards and to reconsider its proposed changes to workplace laws. Considering the number of Australians who lose their lives through work it is also a national disgrace that the Government does not collect accurate national figures on workplace deaths and injuries.'
The VTHC and the Industrial Deaths Support and Advocacy (IDSA) hosted the commemoration service at the Workers’ Memorial, which included an internationally observed minute of silence. Families of workers who have died on the job participated in the commemoration.
Victoria has had a horror year with 10 workers losing their lives since the beginning of the year... 5 in the week immediately before April 28. The symbol of the canary, used in the past to warn miners to get out due to insufficient air, was this year even more poignant, as all those present remembered the tragic mine disaster in Tasmania just days before.
The commemoration was one of many events held throughout Australia. It is estimated that around 10,000 separate events are held in 100 countries throughout the world to mark International Workers Memorial Day.
International Workers’ Memorial Day was first marked by Canadian unions in 1984 and was adopted internationally in 1996. Australian unions began observing the day in 1996. In Victoria a memorial service is held each year at the Memorial Rock at Trades Hall.
The memorial rock was unveiled in 2000 to commemorate those workers who have lost their lives as a result of their work. The rock came from a worksite where a worker had lost his life.
ACTU Media Release
Workplace Fatalities in Victoria since April 2005
1. 7 May
A 42-year-old man was crushed when a rubbish skip in the process on being moved from a truck onto a trailer fell, resulting in fatal injuries at Maryborough
2. 25 May
A 31-year-old maintenance fitter working on a paper machine at Maryvale was struck by a large roller causing sustaining fatal injuries. The machine was undergoing maintenance at the time.
3. 15 July
38-year-old man was conducting maintenance work on a large fixed jaw within a rock crushing machine. He died when the jaw fell crushing him at Donnybrook.
4. 11 September
A man sustained fatal injuries as a result of being crushed between the top rail of a scissor lift and roof member at Braybrook.
5. 31 October
A 41-year-old male falling trees in a logging coupe near Rawson in Gippsland when a 40 metre high free-standing tree fell and struck him.
6. 8 November
A 44-year-old male operating a forklift at an Irymple factory struck a pole causing the forklift to tip, crushing the operator.
7. 17 November
A 27-year-old man died when a steel work stand undergoing a repair at Ballarat.
8. 25 November
A 52-year old truck driver fell more than four metres from the top of a grain transport during loading at Drouin.
9. 4 December
A 54-year-old truck driver died when he was struck by a load which fell from a truck being loaded by a forklift at Moorooduc.
10. 7 January
At Mirboo North,a 49 year old woman fell from a moving tractor and was run over on her family property
11. 9 January
A truck delivering lime to a South Gippsland came into contact with power lines electrocuting the driver.
12. 23 January
A volunteer firefighter died when he was thrown from a fire truck which rolled down an embankment.
13. 17 February
Another volunteer fire fighter was run over by fire truck at a fire scene and sustained fatal injuries.
14. 8 March
A concrete precast panel fell at Pakenham during the erection process and crushed an employee.
15. 19 April
A truck driver was electrocuted when his tip truck hit power lines near Nhill in
north-west Victoria.
16. 20 April
A man died in hospital a week after suffering crushing injuries at Abbotsford
17. 22 April
A 26-year-old man died in hospital after suffering an electric shock while changing display light globes at a car dealership in Coburg North.
18. 23 April
A teacher who was at a school property near Wodonga was crushed by a tree.
19. 27 April
A 64-year-old man died in hospital after falling 4.5 on a house construction site at Wonga Park. He was a painter.
20. 28 April
A man died after a truck he was touching reportedly came into contact with power lines at Mudgeegonga, near Myrtleford, in north-east Victoria.
Fatalities per Calendar year
2005 - 18
2004 - 29
2003 - 27
2002 - 34
2001 - 34
2000 - 30
Medical treatment and rehabilitation of injured workers costs Victoria’s employer-funded workplace injury insurance scheme (WorkCover) more than $1billion a year. Around 30,000 claims were made in the 2004-05 financial year.