Jack Thomas was 17 when he was injured in a workplace accident in 2015. He recalls the warning signs of an unsafe environment.
“I was working at a recycling facility in Port Coquitlam and was cleaning out the sorting conveyer, when the belt suddenly started up and my sleeve was caught in the exposed roller.”
No one else was there to see what happened next.
“It was a summer job,” he says. “I didn’t think at all about making my own safety a priority. Now I understand that it’s the employer’s responsibility to make sure the workplace is safe, to explain any potential workplace hazards and to mandate proper supervision on the job.”
The National Day of Mourning, held annually in Canada on April 28, is dedicated to remembering those who have lost their lives, or suffered injury or illness on the job due to a work-related tragedy.
Hundreds of workers are killed across Canada every year for simply trying to make a living to support their families. In 2017, 158 B.C. workers died from a workplace injury or disease.
The National Day of Mourning is not only a day to remember and honour individuals like Jack, who are injured or who have lost their lives due to a workplace tragedy. It is a day to renew our commitment to improve health and safety in the workplace and to prevent further injuries, illnesses and deaths. It is a time for all of us — as workers and employers — to talk openly, honestly, and positively about what we can do together to make our job sites safer, to improve training for new staff, and to ensure that our collective safety is a top priority.
This April 28th “Day of Mourning” Monument was erected to honour workers killed or injured on the job. Photo credit: http://www.wfhathewaylabourexhibitcentre.ca/
This year, WorkSafeBC, the B.C. Federation of Labour, and the Business Council of British Columbia are co-hosting a public ceremony in Vancouver to honour the occasion. The event is being help tomorrow, Saturday, April 28th, at Jack Poole Plaza outside the Vancouver Convention Centre at 10:30 am.
There are other number of other ceremonies taking place this weekend across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley to honour the memory of workers lost and to build momentum around creating healthy and safe workplaces for all.
United Way British Columbia is proud of our long-time partnership with the Labour movement. Together, we advocate for living wages and safe working conditions, because we know that a caring, vibrant and healthy community is dependent on its healthy and vibrant members.
Today, tomorrow, and every day.
To learn more about the United Way and Labour partnership, click here.
Topics : Building strong communities, Labour
