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27 April, 2000Trade unions the world over are paying tribute to workers who have lost their lives, been injured or suffer from occupational disease.
GENEVA/GLOBAL: Today, April 28, is the fifth international day of commemoration and mourning for workers who have died or been injured in the course of their work or who are suffering from occupational disease. Each year, unsustainable forms of production cause the deaths of 1.1 million workers, as well as 1.2 million injuries and 160 million diseased.
April 28, 1996, marked the First International Day of Mourning, when the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions lit a memorial candle at the UN's Commission on Sustainable Development, in New York, to highlight the plight of workers in unsustainable forms of production. This ceremony has since led to various organisations and individuals the world over observing April 28 as a day to pay tribute to workers who have died, been injured or fallen ill. Candles are lit, incense is burned, music is played, poetry is read. Programmes are introduced to increase worker awareness of health and safety issues.
The theme for the 2000 commemoration is "Youth in the New Millennium". In Geneva, international trade unions are hosting the main international event at the headquarters of the International Labour Organisation. Elsewhere national and individual trade unions, amongst them many of the IMF's affiliates, are organising special events. A trade union delegation will participate in a special "Initiation Ceremony" at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
Continuing on the theme of youth, the ICFTU will launch on the First of May its Youth Campaign which will encourage and support young people in joining and becoming involved in trade unions and promote employment, education and health and safety policies. The launch, says the ICFTU, will be "a symbol of positive transformation from mourning the dead to promoting life and the living."
April 28, 1996, marked the First International Day of Mourning, when the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions lit a memorial candle at the UN's Commission on Sustainable Development, in New York, to highlight the plight of workers in unsustainable forms of production. This ceremony has since led to various organisations and individuals the world over observing April 28 as a day to pay tribute to workers who have died, been injured or fallen ill. Candles are lit, incense is burned, music is played, poetry is read. Programmes are introduced to increase worker awareness of health and safety issues.
The theme for the 2000 commemoration is "Youth in the New Millennium". In Geneva, international trade unions are hosting the main international event at the headquarters of the International Labour Organisation. Elsewhere national and individual trade unions, amongst them many of the IMF's affiliates, are organising special events. A trade union delegation will participate in a special "Initiation Ceremony" at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
Continuing on the theme of youth, the ICFTU will launch on the First of May its Youth Campaign which will encourage and support young people in joining and becoming involved in trade unions and promote employment, education and health and safety policies. The launch, says the ICFTU, will be "a symbol of positive transformation from mourning the dead to promoting life and the living."