WHEN: Tomorrow, Saturday the 28th of April

WHERE: Workers Memorial Garden, Elizabeth Park, Launceston 8am AND Hobarts Parliament Lawns at 12 noon

Family members, friends and colleagues who have lost a loved one at work or experienced a workplace injury will join with union members and the community to mark International Workers Memorial Day on Saturday the 28th of April.

Unions Tasmania will host a service in both Launceston and Hobart to commemorate this important day. Vigils, services and ceremonies will be held across the country and around the globe to honour the memory of those who went to work and did not return home.

It means a lot to family members and friends that we recognise this day and remember those who died or were injured on the job, said Jessica Munday, Secretary of Unions Tasmania.

Preliminary data for 2017 from Safe Work Australia show there were 186 Australians killed at work last year. Six Tasmanians died at work in 2016 and over 6,500 injuries were reported to WorkSafe Tasmania last year. The union movement believes one workplace death is too many so, with these statistics at the front of our minds, today is an important day for reaffirming as a community our commitment to safe workplaces.

Sadly, many workplace deaths or injuries arent accidents in the true sense of the word. They occur because, at some point, a decision was made that safety wasnt the most important thing to watch out for. In Tasmania, we are now being reminded of the tragic consequences and the immeasurable pain felt by families following a workplace death as the inquest into the three deaths at the Mt Lyell mine continues, said Ms Munday.

The Tasmanian union movement is committed to remain ever vigilant and continue the fight for safe workplaces. That means we will continue to campaign to make industrial manslaughter a crime. We will continue to advocate for presumptive Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) legislation for our first responders. And we will continue to campaign against work practices that put profit before safety, said Ms Munday.

For further information: Jessica Munday 0417 454 809

Unions and workers to join with families for International Workers Memorial Day.pdf