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Day of Mourning honours workers killed or injured on the job
Richmond, B.C., April 27, 2007 — Day of Mourning ceremonies are being held across B.C. to remember the 160 workers who lost their lives and the more than 130,000 injured in 2006 as a result of workplace injury, illness, or disease.
“As you work today, we ask you to join the many workers and employers around B.C. who are holding ceremonies on their worksites, and take a moment to honour the memory of workers who have been lost and those now struggling with injury and disease,” said David Anderson, WorkSafeBC President and CEO. “We also ask you to believe that injury and death on the job is absolutely preventable and is not an acceptable cost of doing business in B.C.”
Across Canada, the Day of Mourning has been recognized since 1991 after the Mourning Day Act was passed in December of 1990. Today, a Day of Mourning ceremony co-hosted by WorkSafeBC, the B.C. Federation of Labour, and the Business Council of British Columbia is being held at Hastings Park at 10:00 a.m.
Throughout B.C., at least 5,000 workers will participate in worksite ceremonies*.
“Even one death or serious injury is one too many,” said B.C. Minister of Labour and Citizens' Services Olga Ilich.“Safety is everyone's responsibility, whether we are workers or employers. Government is committed to safety in the workplace.”
Of the 160 accepted work-related fatalities in 2006, 61 resulted from occupational diseases and nine were young workers aged 15-24. The construction industry accounted for the highest number of fatalities with 38, followed by transportation with 32 deaths.
In the past 20 years, a total of 3,063 workers have died from workplace injury or occupational disease.
“You never get used to dealing with death in the workplace,” said Mohinder Bhatti, WorkSafeBC Occupational Safety Officer who is part of a unit that investigates workplace fatalities and serious injuries. “I've investigated 35 work fatalities so far and it doesn't get any easier. You can't let it go,” said Bhatti. “Not one of them had to happen. Every single one was preventable.”
Serving nearly two million workers and more than 188,000 employers, WorkSafeBC is a provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors and funded by employers. WorkSafeBC was born out of a compromise between B.C.'s workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers or fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. WorkSafeBC is committed to a safe and healthy workplace and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits to workers injured as a result of their employment.
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| Gladys Johnsen |
* A list of Day of Mourning ceremonies is available at WorkSafeBC.com