International Workers Memorial Day 2021

Yesterday marked International Workers Memorial Day and the AWU Victoria attended an outdoor event held at Trades Hall Victoria.

Memorial Day is a time to reflect on how to prevent work-related occupational diseases, deaths, injuries, and illnesses. It is also a day to remember those that have died from a work-related injury or illness.

A crowd gathered on Lygon Street to remember those who lost their lives. Assistant Secretary of Trades Hall Will Stracke read out the names of those who had died in the last year, it was a sobering reminder of how many Victorians did not return home from work.

Unions play a major role in progressing the health and safety regulations and expectations of workplaces and as stated by the ACTU ‘Unions are experts in health and safety and evidence shows that having union members in the workplace increases health and safety awareness by up to 70%’

Having the support of a union can help in OHS situations, your union can assist you with advice on OHS matters and you can work alongside your HSR/Delegate and Organiser to achieve a better workplace. Sticking together with your colleagues, employers, and union can make the difference of a safer workplace for everyone.

In July 2020 Victoria was bound by new industrial manslaughter laws. The manslaughter laws are part of the Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment Bill that was passed in 2019. The laws reinforce that employers are responsible for the safety of their workers, and from July 1 the penalties of a negligent workplace death could have individuals facing up to twenty years in prison and up to $16.5 million in fines.

The introduction of this legislation is giving businesses a prime opportunity to overhaul their OHS systems and review all safety standards to bring it up to date. Workers Memorial Day is a reminder that safety in the workplace should already have been institutionalised, however the industrial manslaughter laws reinforce the need to maintain high safety standards to avoid serious injury and or death.

‘Workers Memorial Day is a difficult day for all of us, every year we hear about the dozens of Victorians who have lost their lives. So whilst we fight like hell for the living, we take the opportunity to grieve the dead. One death is too many. ‘ Victorian State Secretary Ben Davis