April 7, 1997

To: Presidents of AFL Affiliated Unions & Non-Affiliated Unions:

Greetings!

April 28 - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING

For Dead and Injured Workers

This is to invite you to play a role this April 28 in commemorating workers who have died or who remain injured or sick because of unsafe work practices over the past year.

You will find enclosed background material for ideas on what to consider organizing on April 28 at your own workplace, during a local union meeting or in your own offices. Large or small. I urge you to do whatever you can to highlight April 28 in a special way. I also urge you to let us know what you are doing so that it can be reported at the Edmonton event.

You will notice in the attached literature that, within your planned activities for this year, you can create a special focus on issues related to workers' compensation and the Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta. Please consider what you can do to in this regard to highlight issues you know are of concern to workers.

Edmonton Event

On the evening of April 28 a special Candlelighting Ceremony and musical event has been planned by the Alberta Federation of Labour, Alberta & NWT Building Trades Council and others to wrap-up the day's activities and to receive a report on actions from different parts of the province and sectors. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Ukrainian Hall, 11018 - 97 Street.

I invite you and your members to attend this special wrap-up event which promises to be both entertaining and moving. The program stems from the fact that our previously known "National" Day of Mourning" has now become an "International" Day of Mourning - as decreed by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) based in Belgium. Therefore, we wish to join trade unions from all over the world on this day to commemorate all workplace victims of poor work practices.

One out of every 13 Canadian workers is injured every year and over 800 die due to work-related deaths (about two per day). Throughout the world more than 220,000 workers are killed every year (over 500 per day) as a result of 120 million work-related incidents. Many times more are injured. An estimated 65 to 160 million workers contract diseases because of unsustainable workplace conditions.

You will notice by the program that this is intended as a more solemn occasion to remember our brothers and sisters who have fallen before us. However, it is also an opportunity to come together and reconfirm our commitment to working together in the struggles that lie ahead and to spread hope for the future among workers everywhere.

The International Candle that will be lit on April 28 will remain lit until May 1st (May Day).

I look forward to your active participation in events for April 28.

Vocal Entertainment

· Virginia Park School Choir

· Integra Labour Quartet

· Edmonton Women's Quartet

· Trembita Choir

· Notre Dame de Banane Choir

· Raging Grannies Choir

Sponsoring Organizations

· Franciscans International

· Alberta Federation Of Labour

· Alta & NWT Building Trades Council

· United Nurses of Alberta

· Alberta Worker's Health Centre

Candles will be lit throughout the world this April 28th in ceremonies that will commemorate the millions of workers who have died or been disabled at the workplace.

Trade unions, trade union centrals and thousands of supporters will be joining a world-wide candlelight vigil that will begin at the UN in New York to launch the second International Day of Mourning for workers who have become victims of dangerous workplaces and unsustainable development. The ceremonies in New York will bring the message to the United Nations, where the fifth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development is currently taking place.

History:

The concept of a Day of Mourning originated in Canada where it was first proclaimed by the Canadian Labour Congress in 1986. Five years later, the Canadian Parliament gave official status to the Day, when it passed the Workers' Mourning Day Act on February 1, 1991. Candlelight statements will be read in Ottawa and most other Canadian centres April 26 - 29.

In 1984, the CLC Executive Council formalized the trend of observing an annual day of remembrance for workers killed and injured on the job. The aim of the Day of Mourning is to remember our commitment to "fight for the living" and well as "mourn for the dead".

April 28 was chosen as the day of remembrance because this was the day that third reading took place for the first comprehensive Workers' Compensation Act (Ontario 1914) in Canada. New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Rod Murphy put forward a private member's Bill, Bill C-223, An Act Respecting a Day of Mourning for Persons Killed or Injured in the Workplace (short title: Workers' Mourning Day Act), calling on Parliament to officially recognize April 28. On February 1, 1991 this bill received Royal Assent.

In the United State, the AFL-CIO has adopted April 28 as the Worker's Memorial. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, (ICFTU) has organized the first International Day of Mourning with plans for representatives from several European trade unions to participate in a candle lighting ceremony and vigil to protest unsustainable work practices, on April 28, 1996.

On average, 1 Canadian worker out of 13 is injured at work. Workers' compensation boards recognize approximately 800 work-related deaths every year or approximately two per day. Time-loss injuries rose 1.4% from 1993 to 1994. Canadian workers put in approximately 3.5% more time at their jobs in 1994 than in preceding years.

Sprains and strains account for 45% of all injuries reported to workers' compensation boards across Canada. The back is the part of the body most often injured (29%) followed by wrists, hands and fingers (20%). The most frequent types of accidents on the job are contributed to overexertion (30%) followed by being struck by an object and falls (15%) each.

Between 1984 and 1992 the injury rate for women workers kept pace with their rate of entry into the labour market. However, during the same time period the injury rate for male workers declined by 18.2 per cent.

Close to 17,000 workers between the ages of 15 and 19 are injured each year. Most of these workers still attend school and work at part-time jobs.

An average of 1 million occupational injuries are reported each year by provincial and territorial workers' compensation boards. Compensable, "time-loss injuries" or "disabling injuries" are an increasing proportion of the occupational injuries. In fact, time-loss injuries jumped from 38% to 52% from 1970 to 1993. This is despite many jurisdictions invoking 1 to 3 day waiting period to qualify for a compensable time-loss injury, indicating that the types of injuries sufferend on the job are more severe.

Occupational disease claims are some of the hardest claims to have recognized by workers' compensation boards despite the fact that for cancer alone, there are close to 60,000 deaths each year and at least 9% or 5,400 of these are directly linked to the workplace.

In 1994, workers' compensation boards across Canada paid out about $5 billion in benefits - an average of $6,170 per compensated case. With the addition of indirect costs, such as retraining replacement workers, loss of productivity, damage to equipment, tools and machinery and lowered morale, the annual total cost of occupational injuries to the Canadian economy is close to $10.1 billion.

opeiu #458

Day of Mourning Events in Ontario April 28, 1997

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