Workers' Memorial Day marked in Bristol

More than 150 people attended an event in Bristol Cathedral on Sunday 28 April to mark Workers' Memorial Day.

The event, organised by the South West Trades Union Congress (TUC) , attracted members of unions from all over the city to remember those who lost their lives because of their work, and to campaign for the living.

The cathedral was lined with colourful trade union banners as Canon Tim Higgins welcomed people to the building, saying religious and trade union communities were linked by a common desire for justice and peace.

Rich harmonies from the Red Notes Choir rang through the cathedral and created a moving ceremony that paid tribute to those killed as a result of work but who inspired on-going campaigns to protect working people.

Nigel Costley, regional secretary of the South West TUC, said a worker died every 15 seconds somewhere in the world and that unions had a key part to play in worker safety, explaining that unionised workplaces were twice as safe as non-unionised ones.

Julia Verne from Public Health England said there were 16 deaths at work in the South West in 2012, but more than 2,000 workers suffered by life-threatening injuries.

The BBC's Sally Challoner then interviewed Dave Moscrop, who gave a powerful and moving account of how his father died after contracting mesothelioma in the workplace, and how he was seeking justice.

Dave said he was still angry at his father's bosses wilfully ignoring safety to protect their profits. His father, he said, was allowed to work on one side of a factory, making cabinets, when on the other side, asbestos was freely cut into pieces, sending dust into the air.

Sally then spoke to Tim Morris from UCATT, who said the only way to make the construction industry safer was to change the way it is run. He told of cuts to health and safety putting workers in danger, and of the horror of turning up at building sites after a death.

Dave Smith from the Blacklist Support Group gave a passionate speech about how trade union representatives who raised safety issues on building sites were 'blacklisted' - put on a secret list held by employers, and never employed again.

Dave said he had seen the blacklist detailing names and addresses of activists, even the type of car they drove.

He finished to rousing applause, saying he had no intention of remaining silent over the issue.

Moving on to an international dimension, Farzana Saker from Bristol Multi-Faith Forum went on to say that despite improvements in working conditions the UK, many multinational companies circumvented regulations by outsourcing manufacturing to countries with less regulation.

Anna McMullen from Label Behind the Label then said the worst thing about the Bangladesh tragedy, in which more than 350 people died, was that employers knew it was going to happen.

She said the owners of the eight-storey building were warned of cracks in the walls the day before the building collapsed, yet ignored them to continue working. Unions, she said, were repressed, preventing workers from raising safety concerns.

She finished by saying factories were death traps waiting to happen and, rather than express shock and sympathy, UK brands such as Primark and Matalan, who sold garments made in these factories, should invest in safety.

The final speaker was NUJ General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet, who asked people who it was who gave a voice to whistleblowers raising safety concerns, who shone a light into dark corners that bosses would rather were left in the shadows.

The answer, of course, was journalists, some 121 of whom lost their lives during the course of their work in 2012. The single biggest contributor to journalists' deaths, she said, was the culture of impunity as politicians turned a blind eye to the killings.

Nigel Costley closed the event by declaring trade unions must use the day to redouble their efforts to keep workplaces safe.

A short march to Castle Green followed , where wreaths were laid at the foot of the plaque to remember those who have lost their lives as a result of their work.

[Ekk/4]