AUPE marks Day of Mourning with solemn ceremony
EDMONTON – The provincial government and unions like AUPE need to find common ground and work together to reduce the number of workplace deaths in Alberta, AUPE President Doug Knight told a Day of Mourning ceremony this morning.
“We have our disagreements with the Alberta government, but I believe we can agree … that using regulation and enforcement to ensure workplace safety makes good sense,” Knight told about 80 members of AUPE and other unions, as well as news media, who gathered at union headquarters in Edmonton for the ceremony.
“We know that in 2007, 154 working people died on the job, here at home in Alberta,” Knight said, “That’s a 24 per cent increase in workplace deaths over 2006.” (In 2006, 124 working people died on the job.)
“It means on average we’re killing a working person on the job every two and a half days in Alberta,” he said. “Simply put, this is a disgrace.”
Knight said out several actions that need to be taken by the provincial government to make worksites safer and reduce the toll of deaths and injuries:
- In the area of enforcement, the government must institute frequent random workplace safety inspections.
- It must aggressively prosecute workplace safety violations – and enact penalties with teeth.
- Such action must include prosecution of employers that try to intimidate workers into not filing accident reports and claims.
- It should make a commitment to mandatory occupational health and safety training in Alberta.
Looking farther into the future, Knight said, “we must continue to fight for fairer labour laws that will make it easier for working people who want to be represented by unions to have them.
“Why? Because we know that where there are unions in the workplace, health and safety is a priority. Where there are unions, fewer workers die in workplace accidents.”
Every day, not just April 28, Knight concluded, “each and every one of us needs to re-commit ourselves to working safely, and to ensuring g that our co-workers are safe.”
A total of 59 AUPE members have lost their lives at work since 1977, including two in 2007.
In addition, only working people who qualify for Workers’ Compensation are included in the provincial statistics, so injuries and deaths among farm workers, for example, are not included in the count.
The International Day of Mourning is a Canadian contribution to the worldwide effort by trade unionists to make worksites safer and healthier places.
It was first marked in 1984 by Canadian unions. The date was chosen because it marked the day in 1914 when the first comprehensive workers’ compensation act was passed.
In 1991, it was officially proclaimed the National Day of Mourning by the government of Canada. In 1996, it became the International Day of Mourning.
Today, more than 70 countries worldwide mark the Day of Mourning.